Zelenskyy and Trump discuss boosting Ukraine's air defense and drone production
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump (Office of the President)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defense and joint drone production with US President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy wrote.
"I congratulated President Trump on the successful operation in the Middle East. It's important that US actions have weakened not only their nuclear program but also drone production. We will monitor the situation," Zelenskyy wrote.
According to him, he and Trump discussed protecting Ukrainians and purchasing American air defense systems to cover Ukrainian cities.
"Ukraine is ready to purchase this equipment and support American arms manufacturers. Europe can help. We also talked about possible co-production of drones. We can strengthen each other," Zelenskyy said.
He told Trump about how Ukraine's technical team meetings with Russia in Istanbul went, as well as exchanges of prisoners and the dead — specifically that Russia handed over the bodies of its own fallen soldiers to Ukraine.
"Experts in Kyiv are now conducting examinations to identify their relatives. We discussed the battlefield situation. Putin is definitely not winning. I presented Trump with the facts of what is really happening on the ground. Thank you for the meeting and support. Thank you for the truly kind words about our people. We will keep working," Zelenskyy emphasized.
Shortly before that, Zelenskyy said his meeting with Trump had been substantive. According to him, during the conversation they "covered all truly significant issues."
Meanwhile, Trump said that Zelenskyy was very pleasant during their meeting today.
For more on the Trump–Zelenskyy meeting, read the full report on RBC-Ukraine.
Strengthening Ukraine's air defense
Earlier, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the delivery of 350 ASRAAM missiles to Ukraine, intended for air defense systems.
The funding will come from profits generated by frozen Russian assets. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer emphasized that it is entirely fair for the aggressor state to be held accountable and pay for the consequences of the war it initiated.
In addition, Ukraine's air defense system is receiving reinforcements from other sources. On June 23, the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace — manufacturer of NASAMS air defense systems — opened an office in Ukraine.
After the NATO summit in The Hague on June 25, Trump did not rule out providing Ukraine with missiles for the Patriot air defense system. These systems play a major role in shielding Ukrainian cities from ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks.
