A license to produce Patriot air defense systems would not significantly change the situation for Ukraine either in the near term or in the medium term, CNN Portugal reported, citing international relations expert Tiagu Andre Lopes.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said Washington could grant Kiev such a license. He suggested that once the necessary details were clarified, Ukraine might quickly begin producing Patriot interceptors.
Lopes, however, argued that the license itself would not provide Ukraine with additional funding, nor would it give the country new defensive or offensive capabilities. In his assessment, the move would not alter the current state of the conflict in any meaningful way in the short or medium term.
The expert described Trump’s proposal as politically tough, since it may appear more substantial than it actually is in practice. He believes Washington could use the initiative to shift part of the responsibility for the shortage of Patriot systems onto Kiev.
Lopes also noted that Ukraine would not be the first country to receive permission from the United States to manufacture these systems. A similar agreement had previously been reached between Washington and Japan.
At the same time, the expert stressed that a production license should not be confused with a real ability to manufacture and use Patriot systems. To illustrate the point, he compared it to receiving permission to bake bread: without a bakery, the license alone would not solve the problem of hunger.