Zelensky Says U.S. Proposed Three-Way Technical Talks and Patriot Production Licenses After UN Meeting; U.S. Keeps Question Open

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after meeting President Donald Trump this week that Washington proposed a technical-level meeting involving Ukraine, the United States and Russia, possibly in the United Arab Emirates, and that Trump told him Ukraine would receive licenses to produce Patriot missiles. But while Zelensky presented the missile-production issue as settled, the U.S. State Department has publicly said it is not.

Zelensky and Trump met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22. Contemporaneous reporting said the bilateral meeting lasted about 40 minutes and was followed by a longer separate session between the two sides’ negotiating teams. In a Telegram readout and comments to reporters afterward, Zelensky said he and Trump “discussed general things,” and that the more detailed work was handled in the follow-on meeting.

According to Zelensky’s account, the talks produced a short-term diplomatic plan. He said the understanding was that Ukraine would brief and consult with its European partners, the Americans would speak to the Russians, and the sides would return in about 10 days with “some view and result.” Zelensky also said the United States proposed preparing a three-way Ukraine-U.S.-Russia meeting at the technical level and would send proposals on dates.

He said Washington suggested the United Arab Emirates as a possible venue for that meeting. That would fit an existing diplomatic track: the UAE has already hosted U.S.-brokered trilateral talks involving Ukraine and Russia earlier in 2026.

The sharpest gap between Kyiv’s account and Washington’s public position concerns Patriot missile production. Zelensky said Trump “emphasized that he had made a final decision: licences for the production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine will be given.” Zelensky presented that as part of the Sept. 22 discussions.

U.S. officials, however, have not publicly confirmed that such a decision has been finalized. Deutsche Welle reported that the State Department said the licensing question “remains open” and is still under discussion. That leaves a clear disconnect between Zelensky’s description of the talks and the U.S. government’s public stance.

The issue has surfaced before this year. Trump has previously signaled publicly that he was open to licensed Patriot production for Ukraine in 2026, but earlier optimistic statements were later qualified by U.S. officials, leaving the public record mixed rather than definitive.

The distinction matters in practical terms. Zelensky also said the talks covered urgent Ukrainian requests for a winter air-defense package, including additional Patriot interceptors. Those are the missiles used now to defend against incoming attacks. A production license, by contrast, would be a longer-term defense-industrial step. Even if formally approved, it would still require U.S. defense-export approvals and industrial setup before missiles could be built in Ukraine.

Zelensky also said the Sept. 22 discussions touched on an “energy ceasefire” or other de-escalatory steps, alongside the air-defense requests. Together, those issues explain why both tracks described by Zelensky — a possible new technical meeting involving Russia and the unresolved question of Patriot production in Ukraine — carry immediate weight as Kyiv heads into another winter under pressure on both its energy system and air defenses.