MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. Ukrainian officials have been left guessing exactly what US President Donald Trump meant when announcing a transfer of 17 Patriot air defense systems to the country, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate Deputy Chief Vadym Skibitsky.

"We don’t know exactly," he told the Guardian.

Skibitsky said Trump in his comments on Patriots could have been referring to interceptor missiles, launching stations or entire batteries comprising multiple launchers and radar and control systems.

"Seventeen is a huge number if we are talking about batteries. If it’s launchers, that’s possible," he said.

The general also confirmed that Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelenskyy, had discussed the possibility of the US providing long-range Tomahawk missiles in a call earlier in July but no agreement had been reached.

Each Patriot system comprises six launchers. Germany has agreed to provide two Patriot systems, and the Netherlands one more, Skibitsky said.

"That would be 18 launchers for three batteries, which is close to 17. The US administration and the Pentagon will give us further details," he added.

According to Skibitsky, Trump and Vladimir Zelensky had discussed the possibility of the US providing long-range Tomahawk missiles in a call earlier in July but no agreement had been reached. If the US did provide the weapons, Ukraine would struggle to deploy them, as it doesn’t have strategic bombers, he said.

On July 14, Trump said that Washington decided to continue providing weapons and other military equipment to Kiev if Europe picked up the bill for such supplies. NATO would be tasked with coordinating the deliveries, which according to the US president, will include 17 Patriot systems.