President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Axios on Tuesday that he asked U.S. President Donald Trump to provide an emergency "winter package" of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems to help prevent Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, reports UNN.
Details
The war with Iran has depleted U.S. stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles, complicating their sale to Ukraine.
During the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month, Zelenskyy and Trump discussed the possibility of the U.S. granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, to reduce its dependence on American stocks and increase overall production.
Zelenskyy said Trump agreed during their meeting on Tuesday to continue work on licenses for Patriot production. After his visit to the White House, Zelenskyy said he met with representatives of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, both of which produce Patriot interceptor missiles, to discuss the issue.
Even if Ukraine receives the licenses, it will take one to five years to produce a large number of interceptor missiles, the publication notes.
That timeline does not work, Zelenskyy said: "We need Patriots yesterday." "He wants to get 300 of them by winter," the publication writes.
He said Trump promised he would try to help, but also made it clear that it is difficult due to the need for interceptor missiles in the war with Iran.
Zelenskyy said Russia uses between 30 and 40 ballistic missiles in each major strike it carries out against Ukraine. Every month, Ukraine faces three to five such attacks.
He emphasized that Ukraine is ready to share any military technology or experience that the U.S. needs to obtain Patriot interceptors.
The President of Ukraine stated that he and American defense companies are also exploring possibilities to modify Ukrainian-made ballistic missiles and convert them into anti-missile interceptors with capabilities similar to Patriot missiles.
"It will be faster and cheaper," he said.
Although the situation on the front line remains at a stalemate, Ukraine has managed to gain significant momentum through drone and missile strikes deep inside Russia, hitting oil facilities and other critical infrastructure.
This has led to a shortage of Russian fuel and growing public criticism of the war, the publication writes.
The shift in the dynamics of the war helped him and Ukraine strengthen their position before Trump, Zelenskyy said.
"Our relationship is much better and more constructive. Not as emotional as it was. And I think it's good that it's better," he said.
Zelenskyy said he informed Trump about how Ukrainian precision strikes did not kill civilians but instead cut off fuel supplies in Russian-occupied Crimea, while undermining the morale of Russian troops.
"The people there and Russian soldiers cannot live without diesel fuel and gasoline. So, of course, support for the war in Russia immediately dropped in polls," he said.
Visit of Witkoff and Kushner
U.S. mediation efforts between Russia and Ukraine have been sidelined since the start of the war with Iran. Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are still in contact with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, but devote most of their time to Iran, the publication notes.
Zelenskyy said one of the outcomes of his meeting with Trump is a likely visit by Kushner and Witkoff to Kyiv within the next two weeks. This will be their first trip to Ukraine after several visits to Russia. The President of Ukraine said he wants to discuss in detail with them ideas for resuming peace negotiations to end the war, as well as for them to see the situation in Ukraine firsthand.
Zelenskyy said Kushner and Witkoff still want to achieve a ceasefire to create space for diplomacy. But he emphasized that he does not think Putin will agree to a suspension of hostilities.
Zelenskyy: Ukraine and Trump want to end the war, Putin does not29.07.26, 09:00
Despite the current dynamics on the battlefield and his skepticism about Putin's intentions, Zelenskyy said he is still interested in resuming peace negotiations with Russia.
The President of Ukraine said that, in his opinion, Putin is moving toward further escalation and may even try to provoke other countries in the region to have "a simpler victory that can be sold to his audience."
Zelenskyy claimed that Russia is still receiving weapons from Iran and building infrastructure for 30,000 additional troops from North Korea, who will be sent to fight in Ukraine. He also claimed that North Korea is supplying Russia with ballistic missiles and other weapons.
Zelenskyy also stated that Putin is taking little-known measures to prepare for a potential mobilization of an additional 500,000 troops.
"This is what we see. This is not a signal that he wants to stop the war," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy: Putin may mobilize between 300,000 and 500,000 people27.07.26, 09:30