"A very large sum." Ukraine has handed over to the States a list of weapons it wants to purchase in a new package
At the G7 summit the Ukrainian delegation has handed over to the administration of US President Donald Trump a list of weapons worth a "very large sum" that Kyiv wants to purchase from Washington as part of the next package, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a meeting with journalists.
The Head of State believes that between Ukraine and the United States "a very good dialogue has been established" at the level of Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Zelenskyy said that during the G7 summit in Canada on June 18, Svyrydenko had a meeting with Bessent, which was also attended by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.
"They discussed the mineral deal, our next steps, etc. And he and Andriy also handed over to Bessent exactly the package of weapons that we need. We will wait for feedback. There is a very large amount. That includes Patriot systems," the president said.
He emphasized that Ukraine is ready to find money for this entire package of weapons, and this issue may become one of the topics for discussion during the meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
"It seems to me that we need to talk about sanctions as well. And, frankly, it seems to me that we need to talk about a new breath of air in the diplomatic track. We need greater certainty and greater pressure from the world on Putin – this is necessary for the sake of diplomacy. And I would like to talk about these formats with him," the head of state added.
He noted that his visit to the NATO summit does not depend on whether the meeting with the US president will take place. At the same time, the Ukrainian leader is not yet sure whether he will go to the Alliance event.
The president noted that such a "probability is high," but he will decide on it on the eve of the summit: "I may have a significant program, including meetings. And, of course, a very important meeting with President Trump. Definitely."
- President Zelenskyy reported that during the G7 he hopes to discuss with Trump the possibility of purchasing the next package of US military aid, but due to the departure of the US leader on June 16, the meeting did not take place.
- According to sources in the Financial Times, the US president's decision to leave the G7 summit on the first day was partly due to his irritation with French leader Macron and lack of interest in meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy – now NATO has cut short the upcoming summit in The Hague.