Trump to cooperate on strengthening Ukrainian air defences, says Zelensky after call
US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky discussed options to improve Ukraine’s air defence capabilities during a phone call on Friday. “We discussed the possibilities of air defence and agreed that we will work together to better protect Ukrainian airspace,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram following the call.
Zelensky also said the two leaders talked about defence industry cooperation, adding that Ukraine is ready to begin joint production initiatives with the US. He described the exchange as an “important and useful” conversation.
Earlier in the day, Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, called the phone call “very important” and “substantive.”
It remains unclear whether the conversation will influence the recent US decision to halt the delivery of certain weapons to Ukraine, including air defence missiles and precision munitions. The decision, reported earlier this week, has raised alarm among European leaders and Ukrainian officials, especially as Russia intensifies its offensive.
The call with Zelensky came just one day after Trump spoke by phone with Russian president Vladimir Putin. According to the Kremlin, Putin told Trump that Russia “will not give up its goals in Ukraine.”
The phone diplomacy unfolded against the backdrop of one of the most intense Russian bombardments since the start of the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian air force officials described the overnight assault from Thursday to Friday as “the heaviest Russian attacks on Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky meets with US president Donald Trump on the sideline of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in The Hague on 2 July, 2025. © UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP
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