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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an explicit appeal to his European allies at a meeting in Rome, saying “We need finances.”
“We will shoot down everything if our partners hear what I have told them. We have found a solution – interceptor drones,” Zelenskyy said.
That appeal comes after at least 2 deaths and 16 people were injured overnight into Thursday after Russia attacked Kyiv with another mass missile and drone strike, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strike reportedly caused fires across the city and came a day after the heaviest aerial attack of Russia’s full-scale invasion so far.
On Wednesday, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine, topping previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks.
“Our people do not get enough sleep. Putin wants to destabilise our society with these strikes. Their plan is 700-1000 drones a day,” Zelenskyy told delegates at the fourth annual Ukraine Recovery Conference.
“Russia has massively intensified its attacks against Ukraine. The current ceasefire negotiations in Turkey are clearly not working,” Zelenskyy said, referring to face-to-face talks in Istanbul which have so far achieved little beyond prisoner exchanges.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the US and Russia have exchanged new ideas for peace talks regarding Moscow’s ongoing all-out war in Ukraine despite “frustration”, after he met with his Russian counterpart in Malaysia.
“I echoed what the (US) president (Donald Trump) said, both a disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress,” Rubio told reporters following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“We need to see a roadmap moving forward about how this (war) can conclude. And then we shared some ideas about what that might look like,” he said after the 50-minute meeting.
However, Rubio said the two discussed a “new and different approach” to talks with the Kremlin on how to end its war, now well into its fourth year.
“I wouldn’t characterise it as something that guarantees peace, but it’s a concept that, you know, that I’ll take back to the president,” he explained. However, he did not give any further details about the new proposal.
Appeal for Patriots
“With President Trump, we have a positive dialogue about Patriot systems. My request for 10 Patriot systems and the corresponding number of relevant missiles for these systems,” Zelenskyy said.
“Germany is ready to pay for two systems, Norway is ready to pay for one system, I have bilateral agreements with the prime minister. When we get a clear response from the manufacturer and from different capabilities of the USA, other European partners will join the scheme of the financing of American Patriot systems today.”
The Trump administration resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine on Wednesday following a brief pause, US officials said, after the Pentagon directed that shipments be suspended, citing low stocks.
Weapons now heading to Ukraine include 155mm munitions and precision-guided rockets, according to officials.
Trump announced on Monday that the US would continue to deliver weapons to Ukraine and said he was “not happy” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has not budged from his war aims.
Additional sources • AP
