Trump’s Patriot Signal to Putin Raises Stakes
Trump’s possible Patriot license for Ukraine may be a tactic to raise stakes before his call with Putin, analyst Pavel Dubravsky told NEWS.ru.
US President Donald Trump’s statement about possibly granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot air defense systems may be aimed at raising the stakes before his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, American affairs analyst Pavel Dubravsky told NEWS.ru.
According to Dubravsky, Trump has used a similar approach before. In 2025, the Patriot issue also surfaced shortly before contact with the Russian leader, and a negotiating process followed afterward. The analyst said Trump’s latest rhetoric fits the same pattern — a strategy the US president himself has framed as escalation in pursuit of peace.
Dubravsky did not rule out that Trump and Putin could discuss the idea of a three-way meeting in one of the European countries during their upcoming phone call. At the same time, he noted that the optics are different this time: Vladimir Zelensky was standing alongside the US president, and their appearance gave the impression of a more coordinated message.
Earlier, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said the United States intended to provide Ukraine with a license to manufacture Patriot systems. The US leader described the move as good news.