US President Donald Trump mimicked the sound of Patriot missile interceptions with repeated “bing, bing, bing” noises as he praised American air defence capabilities, while also signalling that Washington has not yet agreed to let Ukraine manufacture the missile system.Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump cited the interception of what he described as Iranian ballistic missiles over Jordan while responding to a question about whether the US would allow Ukraine to build Patriot missile interceptors under licence.Trump also joked about using the correct number of ‘bings’ in his missile interception description, saying he wanted to avoid comparisons with former president Joe Biden. The term ‘bing’ has appeared in his previous posts and remarks as well.“The other day you read that five missiles were shot. They were going 8,600 miles per hour … and they were big missiles, and they were shot at Jordan, and our guys were there — bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. Five missiles, and we shot all before they got close,” Trump said.He added, “Nobody else” has that sort of anti-ballistic missile defence capability.Trump called the Patriot system “incredible” but suggested he was reluctant to allow Kyiv to manufacture it.“We have to be very careful about letting somebody build them,” he said.“You have to be very judicious, but you have to be very careful. Now, we have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it, but it’s a hard thing to give away that kind of technology, and I don’t think this would ever happen,” he said.Trump’s remarks appeared to mark a shift from his earlier position. At a NATO summit in Ankara in July, during a meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump had said he intended to grant Ukraine a licence to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors to help counter Russian missile attacks.Asked again about the proposal at the Cabinet meeting, Trump stressed the risks of sharing advanced US missile technology.“It’s a big step,” he said, according to Reuters.“In the case of President Zelenskyy, he’d like to have some Patriots, he’d like to have some Tomahawks, which are you know lethal — one offensive, one defensive.”Reuters reported that the US has not reached any agreement on allowing Ukraine to manufacture the missile system, although discussions are continuing.The issue comes as Ukraine continues to press its Western allies for additional air defence systems to counter Russian missile attacks. Ukrainian president has repeatedly said Patriot interceptors remain one of Kyiv’s most urgent military requirements.“Every package of ballistic missile interceptors saves the lives of our people. And every night without them results in more casualties,” Zelenskyy wrote on X following the latest Russian attacks.Later on Friday, Zelenskyy said he had spoken with US vice president JD Vance after meeting Trump earlier this week in Washington.“The Russian air strikes on our country continue and air defense, specifically interceptors for Patriot systems against ballistic missiles, remains a top priority,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.He also described his White House meeting with Trump as “positive and productive” and said the two leaders discussed Patriot production as well as diplomacy.“We also spoke about diplomacy — it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated,” Zelenskyy said.
