ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country and the US are preparing a contract for the supply of 25 Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv.

In remarks to journalists published on Monday by Ukrainian media outlets, including state news agency Ukrinform, Zelenskyy said Kyiv held discussions with defense companies concerning air defense, in coordination with the relevant US agencies.

“We are preparing a contract for 25 Patriot systems. I believe this is a very good story -- not easy, but long-term,” Zelenskyy said, noting that the request was made in particular by Ukraine's air force.

Zelenskyy highlighted that there is a queue in the production of the Patriots involving countries that have already concluded the relevant contracts with the manufacturer, due to which Kyiv will receive the 25 Patriot systems in varying quantities each year.

“The White House can adjust the queue if there is political will. We understand which European countries could give us priority. There is more positive in this matter -- now we are working to obtain the necessary decisions,” Zelenskyy added.

He also alluded to the idea that US-owned Patriot systems stationed in European countries could be made available to Ukraine "if everyone works together and there is goodwill."

With regards to funding for the Patriots, Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine expects this to come primarily from frozen Russian assets, as well as from its bilateral security agreements with partners.

Regarding the issue of potential long-range Tomahawk cruise missile deliveries to Ukraine by the US, Zelenskyy said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin called US President Donald Trump last week because of his rhetoric on the matter.

He reaffirmed his belief that Russia is afraid of a decision regarding the possible delivery of the missiles, going on to remind his offer at his meeting with Trump in Washington, DC last week to exchange Tomahawks for Ukrainian-made drones.

Zelenskyy and Trump held a meeting at the White House on Friday, which the US president defined as “very interesting and cordial.” The Ukrainian president said he and Trump discussed key issues, including the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, as well as long-range capabilities and air defense for Kyiv. There was, however, no deal on the supply of Tomahawks to Ukraine.

A day before, Trump and Putin spoke over the phone, and decided to hold another summit in Hungary within two weeks. They last met in Alaska on Aug. 15, but there was no breakthrough to end the Ukraine war.

Putin has voiced concern about the US sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, warning that this would "destroy" US-Russian relations and lead to a "completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation."

Donbas withdrawal, Budapest summit

Zelenskyy also argued that Russia’s position on a Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donbas region has not changed, referring to demands to withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up Donbas.

"I explained that Ukraine's position in this context has not changed," Zelenskyy said, referring to the recent talks in the US.

Trump has denied reports that he had urged Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas region to Russia during his talks with Zelenskyy.

"What they (Russia and Ukraine) should do is just stop at the lines where they are -- the battle lines,” Trump had said.

In August, Zelenskyy denied that Kyiv would give up the Donbas region to Moscow in exchange for a ceasefire, arguing this would “open a bridgehead" for Russia for a future offensive against his country.

Asked about the expected meeting between Trump and Putin in the Hungarian capital, the Ukrainian president said he does not believe Budapest to be "the best venue" for the talks.

"Of course, if it can bring peace, then it does not matter in which country the meeting will take place," Zelenskyy said, adding that other venues, including Switzerland, Qatar, and Türkiye, were discussed in his meeting with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris last month.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine expressed both publicly and privately its readiness for any format of talks to end the over three-and-a-half-year war.

" If I am invited to Budapest, if it is an invitation in the format where the three of us meet, or, as it is called, shuttle diplomacy -- President Trump meets with Putin and President Trump meets with me -- then in one format or another, we will agree," he added.