Kyiv, September 25 (QNA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced today that his US counterpart, Donald Trump, informed him during their most recent meeting of a final decision to grant Kyiv licenses to produce missiles for "Patriot" air defense systems.

Speaking days after meeting Trump in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Zelenskyy said: "In our last meeting, President Trump confirmed that he had made a final decision, under which Ukraine will receive licenses to produce Patriot missiles."

The US President had previously stated in July that granting Kyiv these licenses would be "absolutely wonderful," before later stepping back and emphasizing the need for the United States to be "extremely cautious" before issuing such authorization.

Ukraine reports a severe shortage of "Patriot" interceptor missiles amidst the ongoing war with Russia - a situation exacerbated since the military escalation between the US and Iran last February, which led to the diversion of supplies for these advanced defense systems. (QNA)