俄乌冲突持续之际，美国总统特朗普于周三在土耳其安卡拉北约峰会期间，与乌克兰总统泽连斯基举行双边会谈，并当场宣布：美国将向乌克兰发放许可证，允许其在本土生产 “爱国者” 防空系统。
“我们准备给你们生产爱国者导弹的许可，这挺不错吧?” 特朗普当着泽连斯基的面说，“这样一来，他就不能再抱怨我们给得不够了。我直接告诉他：你们自己造吧。” 特朗普补充称，目前负责制造爱国者系统的军工企业尚未接到正式通知，但他表示 “这事最后肯定能办成”。
不过，当被问及是否会在乌克兰生产线建成前，先提供一批爱国者拦截弹应急时，特朗普直言美国库存不足。
“我们有爱国者导弹，但数量不多，我们自己也需要。” 他说。 美乌领导人此次会面的背景是：乌克兰与中东地区消耗的美军 PAC-3 爱国者拦截弹，早已远超现有产能，全球陷入严重短缺，而俄乌战争仍看不到尽头。
周二，泽连斯基在北约峰会的国防工业论坛上直言：“我们必须尽快、尽可能多地获得爱国者导弹，这是眼下最重要的事。” 俄罗斯正抓住这一短板，频繁向乌克兰境内密集发射弹道导弹与无人机群，严重压制乌军防空能力，造成大量平民伤亡。
周三，泽连斯基对美国的支持表示感谢：“总统先生，非常感谢这次会面。我们一如既往地感激美国的两党支持。” 俄罗斯的 “最后一大优势”
周二，泽连斯基在北约全体会议上强调，导弹短缺已到危急关头，欧洲必须自行生产防空系统，以应对俄罗斯的弹道导弹优势，他称这类导弹是莫斯科 “最后的重大优势”。 “我们都认可爱国者系统，它非常先进。”
他说，“但如今的战争证明，现有产能完全跟不上防御弹道导弹的需求，这是事实。”
特朗普则对局势表达了更乐观的看法，称这场已进入第五年的冲突，结束的曙光已经出现。
“我认为和平比人们想象的更近，普京总统想结束战争，泽连斯基总统现在也想结束。” 特朗普周一表示。 周二，他进一步淡化俄乌冲突对美国的影响，称 “这不影响我们”，并将冲突定性为欧洲事务。特朗普曾在竞选时承诺 “上任第一天就结束战争”，后来又说那只是夸张说法。
特朗普表态之际，俄军近期攻势明显加强。俄罗斯国防部称，周一俄军对基辅及周边地区的军工设施和能源基础设施发动了密集打击。 过去几周，泽连斯基一直在向特朗普政府紧急通报拦截弹库存见底的危机，并敦促美方尽快发放许可证，允许乌克兰本土生产爱国者发射装置与拦截弹。 一波三折的美乌关系
当前乌克兰战场处境恶化、对俄外交陷入停滞，此次双边会谈也再次考验了本就起伏不定的美乌关系。 特朗普周三形容泽连斯基是个 “难打交道的人”，但又称两人关系不错。
2025 年 2 月，特朗普第二任期伊始，两人在白宫椭圆办公室的首次会谈一度演变为争吵。当时特朗普对乌克兰的战场处境表示怀疑，并要求泽连斯基对美国的援助多表达 “感激”。
不过，过去一年，随着多次劝和普京的努力失败，特朗普对乌克兰的态度明显软化。 转折点出现在去年 7 月：在多次暂停对乌军援后，特朗普同意由北约盟国出资从美国购买武器，再转交给乌克兰。
近一个月来，种种迹象显示，特朗普重新积极推动俄乌和谈，希望再次促成泽连斯基与普京直接对话。 在本次会谈中，特朗普称已与普京通电话，对方希望在莫斯科举行会面，但泽连斯基并未对此作出承诺。
上周末，特朗普分别与泽连斯基、普京通话，两人均祝贺美国独立 250 周年。 外界尚不清楚通话具体内容，但克里姆林宫助手透露，特朗普与普京通话时长 90 分钟，再次表示愿意协助结束战争。
泽连斯基则称与特朗普的通话 “非常愉快”，并表示和平 “确实有望实现”。 特朗普与泽连斯基上一次会面是在 6 月 G7 峰会。当时他一度对乌克兰表示支持，称俄罗斯是冲突中的 “进攻方”，并表示会 “尽全力” 促成和平协议。
峰会东道主、法国总统马克龙会后对特朗普的援乌态度表示乐观，称其立场 “相比近几个月出现了真正的转变”。
Trump gives Ukraine OK to produce Patriot missiles as war with Russia drags on
President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems.
"One of the things we're going to be talking about is, you'll -- we're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool, right?" Trump told Zelenskyy during a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
"This way he can't complain that we're not giving him enough. I said, 'Make them yourself,'" Trump added.
Trump said the company that manufactures Patriot systems hasn't been informed yet, but "that’ll work out all right."
But when asked whether Trump would be willing to provide Patriot interceptors to Ukraine up front while production gets into place, the president said the U.S. didn’t have that many missiles.
“We have Patriots, but we don't have that many. We need them for ourselves, too,” he said.
The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in Ankara came as expenditures of U.S. Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles in Ukraine and the Middle East have dramatically outpaced current production capabilities, resulting in a critical global shortage as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on.
"We need to find a way to get as quick as possible, as much as possible, missiles for Patriot systems. This is the most important thing," Zelenskyy said at a defense industry forum at the alliance's annual summit on Tuesday.
Russia has sought to exploit this shortfall by launching concentrated bombardments of ballistic missiles and drone swarms at Ukrainian targets, overwhelming the country's defenses and resulting in scores of civilian deaths.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy praised the U.S. for its support throughout the war.
"Mr. President, thank you very much for this meeting. And we're thankful, as always, to your support, American support, bipartisan support," he said.
Russia's 'last major advantage'
In an address to members of the NATO alliance on Tuesday, Zelenskyy stressed the critical nature of the shortage and argued it was time for Europe to produce its own systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles, calling the rocket-powered missiles Moscow's "last major advantage."
"We all value the Patriot system. It's an excellent system," he said. "But today's wars have shown current Patriot production is not enough to meet the growing demand for protection against ballistic missiles. That is a fact."
For his part, Trump presented a rosier outlook -- asserting that an end to the conflict in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year, could be on the horizon.
"I think we're getting much closer than people realize, and President Putin wants it to end," Trump said on Monday. "And President Zelenskyy actually wants it to end now."
Trump also downplayed the impact of the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, saying "it doesn't affect us" and depicting the conflict as a European issue. Trump had promised to end the war on Day 1 in office -- a pledge he later said was hyperbolic.
Trump's comments come amid Russian escalation in recent days. On Monday, Russian strikes targeted Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv, according to Russia's defense ministry.
Zelenskyy has been warning the Trump administration about the crucial depletion of interceptor missiles for several weeks. He is also pressing the U.S. to expedite a license that would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot batteries and interceptors domestically.
A strained relationship
The bilateral meeting tested the strength of Trump and Zelenskyy's sometimes-rocky relationship at a time when Ukraine is facing new vulnerabilities on the battlefield and diplomacy with Russia has largely stalled.
Trump, on Wednesday, described Zelenskyy as a "difficult character," but said they have a good relationship.
The leader's first meeting of Trump's second term -- a February 2025 conversation in the Oval Office --devolved into a shouting matchafter Trump expressed skepticism about Ukraine's position in the conflict and called for more gratitude from Zelenskyy for U.S. support.
But Trump appeared to grow more sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause over the past year as repeated efforts to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table fell flat.
A watershed moment came last July when, after repeatedly pausing military aid to Ukraine, Trump agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine if they were purchased from the U.S. by NATO allies.
And there have been signs over the past month that Trump is reengaging in efforts to bring peace to Ukraine and once again eager to coordinate a deal between Zelenskyy and Putin.
During their bilateral meeting, Trump said he spoke with Putin about the Russian president's desire to set up a meeting in Moscow, though Zelenskyy wouldn't commit to such a meeting.
Trump held calls with Zelenskyy and Putin over the weekend as both leaders congratulated the president on the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence.
It's unclear how substantive the conversations were, though a Kremlinaide said that Trump spoke to Putin for 90 minutes and again offered to help end the war. Zelenskyy said he had "a very good call" with Trump and conveyed there was a "real prospect" for peace.
Trump last met with Zelenskyy at the G7 summit in June, where he, at times, appeared friendly to Ukraine's cause -- describing Russia as the "offensive" party in the conflict and saying he was "going to do whatever" he could to strike a deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron -- the host of the G7 summit -- said after the meeting that he was optimistic about Trump's support for Ukraine, claiming he observed "a real change in comparison to recent months" in his attitude.
