President Donald Trump has said the US will allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors by giving the war-hit nation a license to built a defence against incoming Russian missiles.
"We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the Nato summit in Ankara.
Trump said the US did not have many Patriots and needed them for its defence needs too but Kyiv could produce them “pretty quickly”.
Lockheed Martin is the main contractor for the interceptor missiles for the Patriot system.
His announcement came after Ukrainian air defence forces overwhelmed by Russian missiles and drone attacks said they were running low on interceptor systems.
Russia attacked Kyiv throughout Wednesday, killing three people and injuring 13.
However, Trump’s announcement triggered condemnation from Moscow, with foreign ministry spokesperson saying Nato's decisions at the Turkey summit could have catastrophic consequences.
Key Points
- Donald Trump says US will let Ukraine manufacture Patriot missiles
- Russia fumes at Nato summit decisions on aid for Ukraine and defence
- Russia bans diesel exports to protect domestic supply
- Desperate Russian drivers are converting their cars to LPG as fuel shortages intensify
- Russian attack kills four in Ukraine port of Odesa, official says
Zelensky meets Polish counterpart at Nato summit amid tensions
06:53 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky said he met with Polish president Karol Nawrocki yesterday in Ankara, weeks after the two neighbours engaged in a diplomatic spat.
“I met with President of Poland Karol Nawrocki @NawrockiKn. It was an important and necessary conversation. We spoke for more than an hour. We face one common threat – Russia. And it is critical to maintain mutual understanding, support, and unity of action. Our countries need only strong relations. We agreed to continue our dialogue,” he said.
I met with President of Poland Karol Nawrocki @NawrockiKn. It was an important and necessary conversation. We spoke for more than an hour.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 8, 2026
We face one common threat – Russia. And it is critical to maintain mutual understanding, support, and unity of action. Our countries need… pic.twitter.com/G4YERz1pt9
Two tankers attacked by drones in Sea of Azov in Russia's Rostov
06:25 , Arpan Rai
Two tankers have been attacked by Ukrainian drones in the Sea of Azov, Russia's Rostov region governor said on Thursday.
“The tanker crews have been evacuated. A fire broke out as a result of the drone strike. On one of the vessels, the fire is still burning, on the other, the fire has been completely extinguished," governor Yury Slyusar said on Telegram.
Air defence units downed 73 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said.
In Russia's Tver region, an oil depot caught fire as a result of a drone attack, acting governor Vitaly Korolyov said, adding that the fire has been contained and no one was injured.
Nato chief asks Putin to learn from alliance about discussions and disagreements
06:09 , Arpan Rai
Nato chief Mark Rutte has said Vladimir Putin should learn from the alliance and have some discussions in the open.
On being asked what message the infighting sent to Russia's leader and whether it undermined Nato's message of deterrence, Rutte said: “I would say to Putin: You should have some more discussions yourself, out in the open.”
Nato identifies Russia as the biggest threat to the security of its members, who have boosted defence spending by hundreds of billions of dollars since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“What he (Putin) has seen now is sometimes allies disagreeing a bit, having a bit of a quarrel, and then coming together and reuniting,” Rutte said.
Trump confuses Zelensky for Putin in a Q&A with reporters at Nato summit
05:42 , Arpan Rai
Donald Trump mixed up Volodymyr Zelensky — who was sitting beside him — and Russia’s strongman leader Vladimir Putin when he asked reporters if they had “a question for President Putin,” prompting the room to erupt in laughter, at which point Trump attempted to recover by repeating the prompt and suggesting he’d take the reporter’s question to the Russian leader.
The Putin-Zelensky mixup by Trump came almost two years to the day that Trump’s predecessor, president Joe Biden, infamously introduced Zelensky as “president Putin” during an appearance at the 2024 Nato summit in Washington, DC.
Trump also confused Iran for a long-ago foe Japan when he told reporters that US aircraft carriers had come under fire from Japanese forces during a bilateral meeting with Zelensky.
“We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan. They were shot at the aircraft carrier over a period of about one hour. 111 missiles going to a very expensive ship, and every one of those missiles was knocked down, pretty much most by patriots, but by other means also,” he said, in a mixed-up remark.
Trump says US shot missiles at ‘Islamic Republic of Japan’ in latest baffling fumble
Watch: Trump says US will let Ukraine manufacture Patriot missiles
05:23 , Arpan Rai
Russia bans diesel exports to protect domestic supply after Ukrainian drone attacks on oil facilities
04:52 , Arpan Rai
Russia introduced a ban on diesel exports on Wednesday among a raft of measures to support the domestic fuel market after systematic Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries triggered gasoline shortages and price spikes.
Drivers in many regions are facing hours-long lines to refuel as intensifying Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure squeeze supplies of diesel and gasoline.
Deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told a televised government meeting, chaired by president Vladimir Putin, that the fuel situation remained complex and that "it is clear that the current situation at filling stations is causing concern among the public".
"Today, a ban on diesel fuel exports was introduced, and this will make it possible to increase supplies to the domestic market," he said, adding that Russia would start importing fuel in July.
The ban will stay in place till 31 July.
Industry sources said last week that Russia had started seaborne imports of gasoline from India.
Trump's announcement on Patriots for Ukraine welcomed in Washington
04:25 , Arpan Rai
Senior officials in the US have welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement on allowing Ukraine to make their own Patriot missile interceptors.
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, said the meeting in Ankara sent "several important strategic signals" about collaboration between the US and Ukraine and said she looked forward to turning the signals into concrete decisions.
"We highly value the United States’ continued engagement in advancing a path toward a just and lasting peace," Stefanishyna said in a statement.
US lawmakers also praised the announcement.
"This is a great decision," Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska said on X.
"The manufacturer is currently not keeping up with the needs, and this will surely help."
Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut also praised the announcement.
"Enabling Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptors will save civilian lives, strengthen its long-term security, & bolster the arsenal of the democratic world," he said on X.
Trump's big announcement on Patriot interceptors for Ukraine
04:07 , Arpan Rai
President Donald Trump has said the US would grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, a huge boost for Kyiv, which has long sought permission to produce the defensive weapons.
Here’s what he has said:
"We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at the Nato summit in Ankara.
"It's a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon.
"We have Patriots, but we don't have that many. We need them for ourselves too.
"I think they can produce it pretty quickly. Once we explain it, we'll bring the company here. You work with the company. They have a great ability to produce weapons, pretty complex weapons.
"We have great power over the companies, those companies that make the Patriot.
"We haven't informed the company of that yet, but that'll work out all right. I'm sure they will be thrilled," Trump said.
Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the interceptor missiles that go in the Patriot system.
Russia fumes at Nato summit decisions on aid for Ukraine and defence
03:57 , Arpan Rai
Russia denounced Nato's decisions at a summit in Turkey, saying they could have catastrophic consequences, after the alliance announced military aid to Ukraine and reaffirmed members' commitment to collective defence.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Nato's priorities remained unchanged.
"The militarisation of the European continent, the focus on building up defence capabilities, preparation for an armed conflict with Russia, and, of course, aid to Ukraine,” she said.
"It is a pity, because if Nato strategists had stopped and thought for a moment, they might not have made such irresponsible decisions that could lead to a catastrophe not just for the alliance, but for the whole world," Zakharova said in a statement on her ministry's website.
Nato members at the summit pledged €70bn (£59.7bn) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026.
They reaffirmed their "ironclad commitment" to collective defence under the alliance's Article 5 pact in a summit declaration and unveiled arms deals worth at least $50bn.
In her comments, Zakharova said "cracks" between the United States and its Nato partners "have not gone anywhere".
“Against this backdrop, the Americans do not hide their disappointment with the North Atlantic bloc," she wrote.
"The issue with Greenland is not being resolved according to the American scenario. There is also resentment that alliance members, as Washington sees it, did not act in a supportive way when the United States needed their backing,” she said.
Watch: Zelensky says Kyiv urgently needs Patriot interceptor missiles after massive Russian attack
03:00 , Harriette Boucher
Desperate Russian drivers are converting their cars to LPG as fuel shortages intensify
02:00 , Harriette Boucher
Desperate Russian drivers are converting their cars to LPG as fuel shortages intensify
Russians are flocking to convert their cars to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) amid nationwide fuel shortages, escalating petrol prices, and long queues at filling stations.
These issues stem from recent Ukrainian attacks on refineries. Egor Popov, whose Moscow-based Garant-Gas company fits equipment for LPG conversions, stated that "demand had multiplied".
Butane and propane, components of LPG produced during natural gas processing and crude oil refining, are also less emissions-intensive than petrol.
Russian fuel shortage pushing drivers to desperate measures as gasoline runs out
ICYMI: Nato backs Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes to force Putin to negotiate, says Finnish PM
01:00 , Joe Middleton
Nato leaders back Ukraine’s campaign of long-range strikes deep inside Russia as it looks to pressure Moscow back into negotiations, Finnish president Alexander Stubb has said.
Kyiv is in the “best” position it has been in since the war began and Ukraine’s long distance strikes on Russian oil and military infrastructure have changed US strategic thinking on the war, significantly strengthening Ukraine’s negotiating position, Mr Stubb told the Financial Times.
“I think that [all Nato leaders] understand why Ukraine is doing this,” he said, speaking on the eve of the Nato leaders’ summit in Ankara. “Everyone believes that we need to continue to increase the pressure.”
Russian attack kills four in Ukraine port of Odesa, official says
Wednesday 8 July 2026 23:43 , Harriette Boucher
A Russian attack killed four people in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa on Wednesday, a senior official said.
Serhiy Lysak, head of the city's military administration, said another six people were injured in the attack, which damaged infrastructure in the port, one of Ukraine's key export centres.
ICYMI: Trump says both sides in Ukraine war want a settlement
Wednesday 8 July 2026 23:00 , Joe Middleton
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that both sides in the war in Ukraine want to see a settlement but Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been "difficult."
“We've settled a lot of wars, and this one is the one that I thought maybe would be the easiest, but Putin is a difficult character, and this guy's a difficult character,” Trump said, referring to Zelensky, who was sitting next to him ahead of a meeting between the pair at the Nato summit in Ankara.
Zelensky said he wanted to discuss “some very important details” with Trump.
“I'm sure you will do everything to stop this war,” he told Trump.
Watch: Russia launches fresh strikes on Odesa, injuring six
Wednesday 8 July 2026 22:00 , Daniel Keane
ICYMI: Trump says US will provide Ukraine with license for Patriot missiles
Wednesday 8 July 2026 22:00 , Joe Middleton
President Donald Trump has appeared to support Ukraine’s bid for Patriot interceptors and anti-ballistic missiles during a press conference at the Nato summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
He suggested that the US would be happy to provide Ukraine with a license for Patriot interceptors and said further talks on anti-ballistic missiles would ensue.
“We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," Trump said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“It's a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon,” Trump said.
Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded for the US-made interceptors — the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal that can shoot down ballistic projectiles, whose high velocity and steep flight path make them difficult to stop.
Pictured: Trump meets with Zelensky on the sidelines of the Nato summit
Wednesday 8 July 2026 21:00 , Daniel Keane
Czech Republic will not participate in €70 billion package for Ukraine, PM Babis says
Wednesday 8 July 2026 20:00 , Daniel Keane
The Czech Republic will not participate in a €70 billion ($80 billion) package of military assistance for Ukraine that NATO states agreed to on Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.
NATO members meeting in Ankara pledged that amount for Ukraine for 2026 and "at least equivalent levels" of support in 2027, according to the summit's declaration.
"We appreciate that every country will decide on this itself," Babis said. "We will not participate in the amount."
