The American President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the phone on Friday about the war in Ukraine. In this conversation, Trump said, among other things, that he wants to help protect Ukrainian airspace.
The conversation took place on the day that Russia carried out one of the largest air attacks on Kyiv since the start of the war. The attack, in which a swarm of drones was sent to the Ukrainian capital, lasted more than six hours. At least 23 people were injured.
“We discussed options for air defense and agreed that we will work on better protection of the airspace,” Zelensky writes on Telegram. Weapon capabilities and joint weapon production were discussed “in detail”.
The American side has not yet confirmed the conversation. According to news site Axios, Trump did say that he wants to help Ukraine with air defense.
The United States withheld previously agreed arms deliveries to Ukraine on Tuesday. This would also include Patriot missiles. Zelensky did not say whether the withheld weapons will now be delivered.
According to the Ukrainian president, a new meeting between delegations from Ukraine and the US is also planned. Zelensky has not yet announced when this meeting will take place.
Trump had ‘disappointing’ conversation with Putin on Thursday
Trump held the conversation with Zelensky a day after what he called a disappointing phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two spoke for an hour and a half about the war in Ukraine, but also about the situation in Iran. According to Trump, no progress has been made.
Putin said in the phone call that Russia will not abandon its objectives in Ukraine, the Kremlin reported. However, Russia is still interested in a “negotiated solution”.
Putin emphasized that Russia continues to focus on addressing what he calls the “root causes” of the conflict. He wants to fully annex the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as was previously the case with Crimea.