Ukraine, US agree to 'significantly' enhance efforts on drones: Zelensky
KIEV
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Saturday that Ukraine and the U.S. reached an agreement to "significantly" enhance efforts on drones.
Stressing that Ukraine's Defense Ministry and "one of the leading" U.S. companies signed the agreement this week, Zelensky said in a video that “it will provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of drones as early as this year, on special terms, and even significantly more drones the following year.
"This includes interceptor drones, which are clearly our priority."
Regarding his call Friday with U.S. President Donald Trump, he said: "I'd say it was probably the best conversation we've had so far, extremely fruitful."
Meanwhile, Germany was exploring the possibility of purchasing more Patriot air defence systems from the United States for Ukraine, a government spokesman said Friday, as Russia intensifies its aerial attacks.
Asked to comment on reports that the government in Berlin had reached out to Washington over a deal for new anti-missile systems, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said he could "confirm that more intensive discussions are indeed taking place on this".
Chancellor Friedrich Merz had raised the issue in a telephone call with Trump, Der Spiegel magazine reported subsequently. The exchange was confirmed to AFP by Kornelius.
