Ukraine to need years to produce Patriots — Financial Times

LONDON, August 10. /TASS/. It may take Ukraine years to launch the production of the Patriot air defense systems because Kiev may need years to coordinate the transfer of technology and create a certified supply chain, the Financial Times said in an editorial. "So it offers no short-term solution," the newspaper writes. At the same time, the Financial Times reminds that US President Donald Trump has recently indicated that he doubts the feasibility of the licensing agreement, although Ukrainian officials and manufacturers are preparing to continue working on its implementation. The story says that the mere signing of the agreement may encourage allies to transfer their existing stocks of Patriot missiles to Ukraine if they know that their replenishment is already envisaged. On July 31, Trump noted that the United States should be very cautious about granting other countries licenses to produce US weapons. He said that Washington had not agreed to transfer either Patriot system manufacturing technologies or the Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev, and questioned the possibility of such a transfer.