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Ukraine Prepared to Buy 10 Patriot Systems From US, Zelenskyy Says Deal Discussed With Trump
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![Photo of Liubava Petriv]( "Photo of Liubava Petriv")
On April 17, during a press briefing, President Zelenskyy spoke about Ukraine’s efforts to strengthen its air defense capabilities.
He confirmed that Ukraine is ready to purchase at least 10 Patriot air defense systems and has discussed this directly with US President Donald Trump.
“He told me the United States would work on it. At the moment, that is the only update I have,” Zelenskyy said.
Reflecting on Ukraine’s past air defense infrastructure, Zelenskyy noted that in 1992, the country possessed 225 systems. By the early 2000s, that number had decreased to around 169, and by 2019, only about 60 remained.
“I’m not here to talk about who stole or sold what — the point is to understand the level of coverage we had and, by comparison, what kind of defense Russia now has. Some of our systems ended up not only in the Middle East but were also sold to Russia,” he explained.
Zelenskyy also emphasized the importance of continued intelligence cooperation with the United States. He said US reconnaissance support helps Ukraine detect and respond to Russian ballistic missile launches.
“Without American intelligence, attacks like those in Kryvyi Rih and Sumy would be even more frequent. That’s why we were so concerned when data sharing was paused,” Zelenskyy noted.
On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian intelligence has received new information indicating that China may be supplying Russia with military materials, including gunpowder and artillery.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
