KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he met in Kyiv with top representatives from Raytheon, the American defense contractor responsible for manufacturing the Patriot air defense systems that Ukraine urgently needs to defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks.
The meeting took place fewer than three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump promised to provide Ukraine with a license to produce Patriot systems — a notable shift in tone as Trump has recently taken a more favorable stance toward Zelenskyy.
In another indication that Ukraine is gaining support in Washington, prominent Trump ally Laura Loomer visited Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. After years of downplaying Russia’s invasion, she publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin over his missile strikes on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy announced late Thursday that the Raytheon delegation expressed willingness to work with Ukraine on jointly producing Patriot interceptors. The Patriot system consists of radar equipment, command-and-control technology, and various types of interceptor missiles.
Raytheon did not post any response or acknowledgment of the meeting on its website or social media platforms.
“Our teams — both at the government level and from the private sector — will stay in close touch to work (it) out,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
Zelenskyy is pushing to finalize a co-production deal quickly, as Russia continues launching ballistic missiles that are difficult to intercept and have resulted in civilian deaths and widespread destruction in populated areas.
For several years, Zelenskyy has been urging Western allies to speed up Patriot deliveries. While Ukraine has developed its own air defense innovations, large-scale manufacturing capacity remains critical. However, experts and Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that building production infrastructure inside Ukraine would likely require years to complete.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to present Russia as negotiating from a position of dominance, even as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts under Trump have yet to produce any resolution to the conflict. Since Russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014, it has managed to seize only about 20% of the country.
Western officials and analysts say the Russian military’s forward momentum has been slowing, as Ukraine deploys advanced homegrown drone technology that has drawn interest from other nations. Ukraine has also escalated its drone campaign deeper inside Russian territory, striking high-profile targets, contributing to fuel shortages, and increasing pressure on Putin.
Ukrainian forces once again targeted distribution centers belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, which is frequently compared to Amazon. The company’s founder, Tatyana Kim, confirmed Friday that facilities in St. Petersburg, the neighboring Leningrad region, and in Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea were attacked. Russian media published images showing thick gray smoke rising over St. Petersburg. Ukraine had also struck four other Wildberries warehouses across Russia in recent days, igniting large fires.
Ukrainian officials say the goal is for ordinary Russian citizens to experience the consequences of the war and question whether Putin can protect them. The near-daily attacks have created widespread unease within Russia.
Zelenskyy also announced Friday that Ukrainian long-range weapons struck an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers — about 840 miles — from the Ukrainian border, along with a military manufacturing plant. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses intercepted 571 Ukrainian drones in a single overnight period.
