He noted the increase in Russian shelling against the backdrop of the cold winter and called on Ukrainian diplomats to be as active as possible in this direction. Zelensky said that he spoke about this with Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov and announced negotiations and meetings with partners, in particular about the need for Europe to produce air defense missiles of all types.
“Now there are already certain steps: development of production, expansion. But the speed of this work is still insufficient. The volume of possible production also deserves to be increased. Ukraine spoke about this with America years ago, in particular about the need to create sufficient missile production in Europe, in particular for Patriot. There were promises of licenses, but America in the end did not agree to this. Although we proposed production both in Ukraine and jointly with NATO partners in the region – with Romania, Poland, etc. Such decisions, such production could definitely strengthen all of us, all of Europe,” the president said.
Zelensky expressed hope that Europe will still be able to provide itself with the necessary volumes and strength of protection, emphasizing that “it would be much better for everyone if such a result were achieved faster.”
Context
In December 2024 Zelensky said that he had repeatedly asked the United States to transfer licenses for the production of Patriot systems to Ukraine, but received neither a refusal nor consent to his request. According to him, the reason for the appeals was delays in the supply of these air defense systems for protection against Russian shelling, Ukrinform wrote.
A year later, in December 2025, Zelensky noted that one of the ways to obtain air defense missiles for Ukraine is a license for their production, but the partners never provided it.
