The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev has reached an agreement to receive missiles for the Patriot air defense systems, but did not specify with which country it was concluded, Ukrinform reported, quoted by BTA.
Zelensky made this statement during a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian community in the United States, according to a message on his channel in „Telegram“.
„Today we reached an agreement – I will not say with whom – on a package of missiles for the „Patriot“ systems. This is an important decision,“ he said.
Zelensky noted that the UN platform has allowed Ukraine and other countries to strengthen their capabilities.
„We signed a security agreement with Australia. This is Ukraine's 30th security agreement. Historically, this is the first security agreement with a country outside NATO and the EU. And this is a contribution. We signed a drone agreement with Finland. This is a strong result that strengthens both countries,“ said the Ukrainian president.
He added that within the framework of the UN General Assembly, the Ukrainian team held 20 meetings with leaders of various countries.
As previously reported by “Ukrinform“, Volodymyr Zelensky was in the United States from September 22 to 24, where he participated in the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to meet in Moscow, saying that he would go to the Russian capital only “by rocket”, DPA reported.
On the sidelines of the general debates of the UN General Assembly in New York, a reporter for Russian state television asked Zelensky several times when he would visit Moscow. The Ukrainian president responded: "With a rocket!", using a Russian expletive that, depending on the context, can be translated as "to hell".
The video of the brief exchange was widely distributed by Ukrainian and Russian media, with Russian outlets censoring the expletive.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who is part of the Russian delegation in New York, commented mockingly on Zelensky's words. She hinted that the Ukrainian president was afraid that a possible trip to Moscow could end fatally for him.
Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly yesterday. The two discussed efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine, which began in February 2022, but no concrete results were announced after the meeting.
Zelensky has repeatedly stated that he wants to meet Putin in person to discuss options for ending the conflict. However, the Russian president insists that such a meeting take place in Moscow, which Zelensky rejects both for security reasons and to avoid creating the impression that Kiev is submitting to Moscow's conditions.