Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made statements on the Russia-Ukraine war after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was visiting Kyiv. Zelenskyy said the meeting addressed defense cooperation and diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the war.
Stating that Ukraine and Germany were working together on the production of unmanned aerial vehicles, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would purchase more weapons and equipment from Germany. He added that joint work had also begun to establish unmanned aerial vehicle units in Germany, and said Ukraine was ready to support Germany with training and the transfer of experience.
Zelenskyy said the two countries had 15 separate agreements and documents with a total value of more than 8.5 billion euros. He also announced that Germany would provide Ukraine with more than 1.3 billion euros in military support.
Kyiv’s defense against air attacks
Zelenskyy said the Russian army had intensified its air attacks on Ukrainian cities, particularly Kyiv, and that bridges in Kyiv had also begun to be targeted in recent days. Responding to a question about whether Ukraine was expected not to retaliate against these attacks, Zelenskyy criticized that approach.
Zelenskyy said defense efforts against the jet-powered attack-type unmanned aerial vehicles recently used by Russia were continuing, and that small missiles produced in Ukraine would begin to be used in the second half of October. He said there were several different types of the missiles but would not disclose their names.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s F-16 fighter jets need to fire between 5,000 and 6,000 20-millimeter rounds every day against air attacks, adding that talks with European leaders were continuing to secure support on this issue.
Zelenskyy said efforts had begun to strengthen Kyiv’s defense capabilities and that turrets had been installed in the city to counter the attacks. He announced that 12 turrets had been installed in Kyiv, eight more were planned, and an additional 50 turrets would be deployed in the Kyiv region.
US proposes trilateral technical-level talks
Zelenskyy said work with the United States to end the war was continuing and that he had met with the US negotiating team a day earlier. He said the US side was in contact with both Ukraine and Russia and had proposed holding trilateral technical-level talks by the end of October.
Zelenskyy said he supported the proposed meeting, which would include representatives of the United States, Ukraine and Russia.
