Zelenskyy and von der Leyen discussed EU accession and strengthening Ukraine's air defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during which the two sides discussed Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and strengthening the protection of Ukrainian airspace.
The head of state announced this on his official Telegram channel.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is fully prepared to open all six negotiation clusters. The Ukrainian side expects that the first cluster, “Fundamentals,” will be officially opened as early as June. During the conversation, the leaders paid special attention to financial support: the president emphasized the importance of receiving the first tranche from the new European aid package as soon as possible and expressed hope that the agreed-upon financing deadlines would be met.
Another key aspect of the talks was the strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense with the assistance of European partners. The Head of State noted that Europe has the necessary capabilities to bolster Ukraine’s defense potential. Discussions on this issue took place, in particular, within the framework of joint work on the “Drone Deal” initiative. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ursula von der Leyen for supporting this initiative and added that working teams are actively collaborating, and a number of countries have already expressed their readiness to join the project.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent an official letter to his American counterpart, Donald Trump, warning of a critical shortage of air defense systems, particularly PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot system. He also sent a copy of the message to the U.S. Congress.
Yuriy Ignat, head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force, stated that the version of the European SAMP/T air defense missile system currently in service in Ukraine has not yet been used to intercept ballistic targets.
