Calling Zelenskyy "President Putin," Trump Authorizes Ukraine to Produce Patriot Interceptors
During the NATO Summit, Zelenskyy and Trump met again.
Perhaps due to Ukraine's recent strong performance on the rear-front battlefield—effectively forcing Russia into becoming a gasoline importer—Trump has noticeably warmed up toward Zelenskyy. Speaking of last year’s heated argument at the White House in February, Trump frankly said, “I can’t believe it,” adding that their current relationship is “excellent.”
Not only that, but Trump also referred to Zelenskyy as “President Putin,” seemingly implying an elevated status for the latter in his mind. However, he quickly backtracked, saying he would relay today’s questions to the real President Putin.
Trump’s praise for Zelenskyy isn’t just verbal—he has authorized Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors. He stated that Ukraine’s current defense manufacturing capabilities are sufficient for producing these interceptors, and until production is fully operational, the U.S. will continue supplying some interceptors to Ukraine.
Trump defended his decision, emphasizing it’s not intended to escalate conflict. After all, interceptors are defensive weapons—they won’t be launched as offensive missiles into Russia to cause casualties. He claims this move is aimed at saving lives.
As for how many interceptors the U.S. will provide or whether they’ll be produced within Ukraine, he didn’t specify. After all, Ukraine lacks the independent capability to manufacture interceptors from scratch; at best, it could engage in basic assembly work in collaboration with the U.S., but the core components and technologies will certainly not be shared.
The Ukrainian side welcomed the development, calling it a new milestone in U.S.-Ukraine cooperation and pledging to swiftly push these signals into tangible decisions.
Naturally, Russia won’t remain passive. If interceptor production facilities emerge within Ukraine, they will inevitably become prime targets for Russian missile strikes—and the U.S. would likely suffer collateral damage as well.
Moreover, all these speculations hinge on whether Trump will actually follow through on his promises. But everyone knows: many of his statements are made off-the-cuff. Only those who depend on U.S. support tend to treat his words as gospel.
Original Source: toutiao.com/article/1870219611278343/
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