Ukraine Just Got Its Afghan Stinger Moment.
From Stingers to Patriots: Ukraine's Reagan Moment When President Donald Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the recent NATO summit, "We're going to give you a license to make Patriots. That's pretty cool, right?" the offhand remark masked the significance of what may become one of the most important strategic decisions of the war. If implemented, allowing Ukraine to manufacture Patriot air-defense systems would represent arguably the most consequential Western military policy shift since President Ronald Reagan approved the transfer of Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Afghan resistance in the 1980s. The significance lies not simply in the weapon itself, but in what the decision represents. The West is no longer merely supplying Ukraine's defense. It is helping Ukraine build the industrial capacity to sustain it. History does not repeat itself exactly, but it often rhymes. Vladimir Putin should remember how the last Kremlin leadership underestimated that ...