Trump's Patriot License for Ukraine: What Was Promised, How Russia Reacted, and How NATO is Changing Its Stance on Long-Range Strikes

Trump himself framed the move as a way to address Zelenskyy's complaints about insufficient US aid, saying, "This way he can't complain that we're not giving him enough. I said, 'Make them yourself'" .

Kremlin Response: Accusations of 'Hypocrisy'

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded on July 9, 2026, by accusing Washington of "hypocrisy" in its stance on the war . The criticism came as Trump also announced he would speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin that same day, adding that both sides in the conflict wanted a settlement . Peskov's remarks implicitly rejected Trump's framing of mutual desire for peace.

US Senators' Response: No Direct Statements Found

The search results did not contain direct quotes or named responses from specific US senators regarding the Patriot license announcement. This portion of the question could not be fully verified from the available sources.

Broader NATO Shift on Long-Range Strikes and Strategy

The Ankara summit took place against a backdrop of significant strategic evolution within NATO, driven partly by the Trump administration's "NATO 3.0" vision.

NATO 3.0 and the Division of Labor: The Trump administration pushed for a "NATO 3.0" in which Europe would take primary responsibility for conventional security — including supporting Ukraine — while the US would continue to supply the nuclear umbrella .

Capability Priorities: NATO Defence Ministers had already agreed to prioritize air and missile defense, long-range weapons, logistics, and large land maneuver formations as top investment areas . This planning fed directly into the Ankara summit discussions.

Shift on Long-Range Strikes: A February 2026 statement from Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (parliament) noted that NATO's Parliamentary Assembly had shifted toward "allowing Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with Western weapons" . This marks a significant departure from earlier restrictions that limited how Ukraine could use Western-supplied arms. However, the available evidence from the Ankara summit itself does not detail a new, specific long-range strike policy decision made at that gathering.

A previous policy shift had occurred in May 2025, when Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Western allies had removed restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine .