Washington/ Kyiv: Terming his telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump a “very good conversation”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US and Ukraine share a commitment to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, and called for firm international action to dismantle Russia’s war financing.
“I spoke with President Trump. It was a very good conversation. I thanked him for his willingness to support Ukraine and for his commitment to working together to stop the killings and establish a lasting and just peace,” Zelenskyy said in a series of posts on X. “President Trump also shared details of his meeting with the NATO Secretary General. It’s important that we maintain such strong relations, and that the Alliance countries continue to increase their defense spending.”
Zelenskyy added that he and Trump discussed “the necessary means and solutions” to better protect Ukrainian civilians from Russian attacks and to strengthen Ukraine’s defensive positions. “We are ready to work as productively as possible to achieve peace,” he said.
The two leaders also agreed to stay in regular contact. “We agreed to speak more often and to coordinate our steps moving forward. Thank you, Mr President. Thank you, America!” Zelenskyy said.
Zelanskyy phone call with trump comes after US President Donald Trump announced his decision to send Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine emphasizing that they are “desperately” needed to defend the country as Russian president Vladimir Putin “talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening”.
Trump has adopted a different strategy sustain US weapons shipments to Ukraine as the European Union would be purchasing the weapons for Ukraine. “They(EU) are going to pay us 100% for that, and that’s the way we want it,” Trump told reporters.
In an another message posted on X, Zelenskyy emphasised for international unity and pressure against Russia.
“I am grateful to President Trump for his readiness to help protect the lives of our people. This war continues solely because of Russia — because of Putin’s desire to prolong it.
Russia wants the war to become the ‘new normal.’ We must never accept that,” he said.
“Everything humanly possible must be done to force Russia to stop the killings, to achieve real peace, and to ensure lasting security. Peace is only possible through strength.”
Calling for imposing restrictions on Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine, the Ukrainian leader said, “Russia’s war financing must be cut off. Its ties with Iran and North Korea must be severed. Any supply of components and equipment to Russia’s military industry must be blocked.”
He acknowledged the role of international partners in bolstering Ukraine’s defences. “I’m grateful to our team and to the United States, Germany, and Norway for preparing a new decision on Patriot systems for Ukraine. We are also working on major defense agreements with America.”
“Ukraine is fully prepared to take all honest and effective steps toward peace — towards lasting peace and real security. But it is Russia that isn’t ready. It is Russia that must be forced. And that is exactly what is happening,” Zelenskyy added.
Germany will decisively support the US initiative to arm Ukraine at EU expense, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the US and the EU had reached an agreement on arms supplies to Kiev, with Europe paying for them.
“President Trump today came up with an important initiative: the US will provide Ukraine with large quantities of weapons if its European partners finance this. We have discussed this with President Trump on numerous occasions in recent days. I assured him that Germany will take a decisive part in this. We are doing this in our own interests,” Merz said.
According to Merz, such actions will help Ukraine resist Russia.
“This is the only way to increase the pressure on Moscow so that it finally starts peace talks. Ultimately, we are demonstrating that we act in concert as partners in the security sphere. Now we will quickly clarify the details. We are in contact with our partners for this purpose,” the German chancellor added.
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