Trump Agrees to Major Weapons Deal with Zelensky at NATO Summit, But It’s Not What You Might Think

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck an arms deal Wednesday at a NATO summit.

Under the deal, Ukraine would be allowed to produce Patriot missiles, America’s top interceptor, while the United States would buy drones from a nation that has refined the art of drone warfare.

“Well, we would buy their drones, and we make drones, we make great drones, but they [Ukraine] have an ability to make a lot of them,” Trump said, according to Time.

Ukraine demonstrated that this week as three days of drone raids struck 21 Russian vessels that were supplying Russian forces in Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine also continued its attacks on refineries deep inside Russia, according to Fox News.

Trump noted that on Wednesday as he called Ukraine “very effective.”

“He’s had the best equipment because he had our equipment,” Trump said. “But somebody has to use that equipment. And you have a lot of brave people that are using that equipment.”

The Patriot missile deal is unlike past weapons agreements in which the U.S. raided its own stockpile and sent arms to Ukraine, which has held off Russian forces for more than four years, according to The Hill.

Ukraine will be able to co-produce the missiles, all of which are currently made by Lockheed Martin in the U.S.

“We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right? This way you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough,” Trump told Zelenskyy.

“I think they can produce them very quickly once we explain it,” Trump said, according to the BBC.

Patriot missiles would fill a hole in the Ukrainian defenses. The nation has limited ability to stop Russian ballistic missiles, as was shown Sunday when Russian attacks killed at least 20 people, as noted by The Hill.

Trump on Wednesday backed Ukraine’s strategy of taking the war to Russia.

“It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that could help lead to an end,” Trump said.

Luke Coffey, a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute, said the talks between Zelenskyy and Trump produced “impactful and concrete announcements” that will “have an effect on the battlefield.”

Olga Stefanishyna, Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, said that “expanding cooperation on Patriot missile capabilities reflects a d understanding that Ukraine must have the means to protect its people and critical infrastructure.”

She added that the announcement “signals confidence in Ukraine’s domestic military production, which has expanded from drones to cruise missiles.”

“Ukraine has proven it can develop and produce even the most sophisticated defense technologies. This partnership is about more than helping Ukraine defend itself — it is about strengthening the future security of the entire transatlantic community,” she remarked.

Trump said his relationship with Zelenskyy has evolved from contentious to cooperative.

“We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe, right? From the Oval Office to now, I think we’ve developed a very good relationship,” Trump said.

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