Translated with AI
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv is preparing a contract with the United States for the supply of 25 Patriot air defense systems. He announced this on October 19 during a meeting with journalists during his visit to Washington.
"We're preparing a contract for 25 Patriot systems. I think this is a very good deal. It's challenging, but it's long-term," Zelenskyy noted, according to RBC-Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the systems will be delivered annually, in varying quantities each year. However, the White House, given the political will, may change the order of delivery. Zelenskyy added that several European countries may also give Ukraine priority in receiving these systems. Ukraine is ready to accept not only new Patriot systems but also those already in service with European countries.
Earlier in September, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal clarified that the country urgently needed 10 additional Patriot systems to defend the skies against Russian ballistic missiles. The US was expected to determine the delivery timeline, according to RBC-Ukraine. Zelenskyy stated that frozen Russian assets in the EU could be one of the sources of funding for the air defense system purchase.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian president announced that European leaders intend to approach former US President Donald Trump with a request to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. "We spoke with European leaders immediately after our meeting with President Trump. They want to ask him to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. We are in constant coordination," Zelenskyy said, as quoted by the Suspilne newspaper.
During the visit to Washington, potential territorial concessions and Russia's proposal to withdraw Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were also discussed. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine's position on these issues has not changed.
The Ukrainian President added that Kyiv is ready to participate "in one format or another" in the Budapest meeting, where Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to hold talks. He specified that this could be a three-person meeting or alternate talks between Trump and the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy also noted that Budapest is "not the best venue for the meeting" due to the negative historical context for Ukraine.
As the Financial Times reported earlier on October 19, citing a source, Donald Trump allegedly urged the Ukrainian president to "accept Russia's terms" during a meeting with Zelenskyy on October 17 at the White House, warning that otherwise Russian President Vladimir Putin would "destroy" the country.
