Ukraine Patriot licenses under US negotiation, Rubio says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States is negotiating with Ukraine over licenses to produce Patriot interceptors, but he said any such deal would not solve Kyiv's short-term air defense shortages because factories would take years to build.

Rubio made the comments in an interview broadcast Wednesday on Brian Kilmeade's Fox News radio show. Asked whether he opposed granting Ukraine the licenses, Rubio said: “That’s being negotiated now. That may come to fruition, but it really won’t solve the short-term challenge that they’re pointing to.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a July visit to Washington that he had discussed obtaining licenses to make Patriot interceptors with US President Donald Trump. Trump said at the time that the United States should be “very careful” before granting authorization.

Ukraine has made defense against ballistic missiles a top priority. Kyiv and Moscow have intensified airstrikes on each other in recent months, with a growing number of civilian casualties more than four years after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Rubio said demand for air interceptors had become a leading defense need in Ukraine and elsewhere. He also said the United States had to make sure its own stockpiles remained sufficient before helping others.