Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelinski are discussing the Ukrainian air defense as Russian attacks

Open the newsletter to watch the White House for free

Your guide to what the second period of Trump means to Washington, business and the world

Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelinski on Friday discussed the needs of Ukraine’s air defense in the face of escalating Russian strikes, in a call that seemed to determine another temperature of the relations.

The call followed a Russian air attack on Ukraine overnight, which began shortly after a tense invitation on Thursday between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelinski said that he and Trump discussed the current wartime situation, “including Russian air strikes and the developments of the broader front lines” after what the Air Force in Ukraine said was the largest air attack since Russia began to invade it on a large scale.

A record number 539 drones designed from Iran was used in addition to 11 Cruise and Balestia missiles in an attack targeting the capital of Ukraine, Kiev. Russia has climbed its bombing in recent days, as it launched the largest former air attack at the end of last week.

Meanwhile, Moscow forces are advancing in the eastern battlefields at the fastest frequency since November, threatening several major Ukrainian strongholds in the region.

Zelinski said he spoke with Trump “about opportunities in air defense” and agreed to “work together to enhance our sky protection.”

Ukraine president has repeatedly said he was ready to buy Patriot Air Defense batteries, and other intersections and weapons of his country.

A person with a call with calling with Trump said that Zelinski had once again raised the case, adding that the American president showed an interest in potential arms sales to Kiev and said he wanted to help with air defenses.

Zelinski also spoke to Trump about joint defense projects, including the production of drones and relevant military technologies. The Ukrainian leader described the conversation with Trump as “very important and fruitful” and said he was “very good” in the situation in Ukraine.

He said that the two had agreed to a meeting between their teams, but they did not give more details.

Their conversation followed Trump’s phone call to Putin on Thursday, which said the American president not going well. Trump told reporters that the two leaders were not closer to concluding a deal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I did not make any progress with him today,” Trump said, adding that they discussed “a lot of things, including Iran.”

Zelinski emphasized the importance of US military aid to Ukraine and said that his torn country was grateful. The United States has allocated about $ 175 billion in Ukraine since the full invasion of Russia began in February 2022. About 67 billion dollars have been saved for military support, including weapons, training and intelligence.

“It helps us to protect lives, protect our freedom and independence,” said Zellinski.

Ukraine’s need for more air defense systems and intersections has been clear in recent weeks, as Russia has escalated its air campaign.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andre Sibha said this week that the Russian army fired more than 330 missiles, including nearly 80 ballistic missiles, as well as 5,000 drones and 5,000 bombs.

Kiev officials said that the aerial bombardment was aimed at planting terrorism and destroying critical infrastructure, with Ukraine forced to combustion through the limited air defenses.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon suddenly stopped some major arms shipments to Kiev, including the Patriot missiles needed to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.

Stopping in the weapon already adhering to Ukraine, officials there and a lot in Washington caught out of the guard. Kyiv called a great diplomat to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this issue, where some weapons sat in boxes in Poland.

I stopped temporarily in February and May by resuming delivery operations a few days later. The United States also briefly stopped intelligence participation with Kyiv in March.

Although the Trump administration is getting doubtful to send aid to Ukraine, European allies in the country have sought to buy weapons for Kiev. A government spokesman said on Friday that Germany is participating in “intensive efforts” to buy Patriot from the United States on behalf of Ukraine.

The Umma Chancellor, Ferdrich Mirz, who pledged to be a strong supporter of Kev, spoke by phone with Trump on Thursday as part of this effort, according to a person familiar with the situation.

German Defense Secretary Boris Pistorius is planning to travel to Washington later this month to pressure his counterpart Beit Higseth on this issue.

Germany, the second largest resource for military support to Ukraine after the United States since the comprehensive invasion, sent three Patriot regimes to Kiev from its own stocks.