U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States has not agreed to allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors.
The decision comes despite earlier indications that Washington would provide Kyiv with a production licence during last month's NATO summit in Türkiye.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday (31 July), Trump said discussions were continuing but stressed the sensitivity of sharing advanced U.S. missile technology.
"We have not agreed to that. We're talking about it, but it's a hard thing to give away that kind of technology," Trump said.
"You have to be very careful," he added.
Trump also said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested additional Patriot systems as well as Tomahawk missiles, describing the latter as offensive weapons while calling the Patriot system defensive.
"It's a big step," Trump said, adding that advanced military technology could one day be used against the United States if it fell into the wrong hands.
The remarks mark a shift from Trump's comments at the NATO summit in Türkiye earlier this month, where he said the United States would grant Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot PAC-3 missile interceptors domestically.
Ukraine has long sought permission to co-produce Patriot missiles as Russia intensifies missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Patriot systems remain Kyiv's only proven defence against Russian ballistic missiles, but supplies have remained limited.
Despite Trump's latest comments, negotiations appear to be continuing. Ukrainian officials have held meetings with Pentagon officials and defence industry executives in recent weeks to discuss potential cooperation.
Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Olha Stefanishyna, said on Thursday that Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the PAC-3 interceptor, remained committed to expanding cooperation with Ukraine.
Stefanishyna said company executives met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this week and were planning a visit to Ukraine in the near future.
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