Trump says Ukraine will get permission to manufacture ballistic missiles.

In late May, Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had officially requested a license for US-licensed patriot production.

After four and a half years of war, the fighting on the front lines has largely stopped, the Black Sea has stopped, and Ukraine as a whole has learned to defend itself against the hundreds of Russian drones fired at night.

But ballistic missiles — which Zelensky called Russia’s “last great advantage” — travel at high speeds and steep paths, making them difficult to stop.

Several managed to punch through depleted Ukrainian air defenses. Earlier this week, Ukraine’s air force said there was a “severe shortage” of intercepted missiles, with “none of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia on Sunday night. More than 20 people were killed in the attack.”

Trump said the United States would allow Kiev to breed patriots, saying “we don’t give them enough.”

At the press conference, Trump acknowledged that Ukraine has recently been having great success with long-range strikes against Russia, hitting targets thousands of miles from the front lines.

“It’s increasing, but it’s progress that may lead to the end,” Trump said.

Sitting next to Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine’s attack on Russian oil refineries required Moscow to “show how serious it is about defending its airspace,” and pressured the Kremlin to end the war.

In his speech, Trump said that Vladimir Putin would like to make an agreement to end the war with Ukraine in 2022, following a full invasion of Russia.

The US president has made similar comments in the past, but to date efforts to broker talks between Kiev and Moscow have been fruitless.

Not for the first time, Trump brought the opportunity to meet Zelensky and Putin to discuss ending the conflict.

Putin has repeatedly said that he is open to such a meeting, but only if it is held in Moscow. Although many interpreted the invitation as a provocation — the Kremlin knows Zelensky would never agree to travel to Russia — Trump on Wednesday asked the Ukrainian president if he was ready to travel to the Russian capital.

“It’s serious – there are a lot of Ukrainian drones there,” Zelensky said, referring to Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks on Moscow.