Trump said he was considering a Ukrainian request for more Patriot missile batteries after he met Zelenskyy at a NATO summit last Wednesday.
“This war must be brought to an end – pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection,” Zelenskyy said in his X post. “Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defence – the thing that best protects lives.”
He said Ukraine was ready to buy the American air defence systems and it counts on “leadership, political will, and the support of the United States, Europe, and all our partners.”
Russia has launched large-scale strikes on Ukrainian cities every few days in recent weeks, causing widespread damage, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds more.
During the latest barrage, explosions were heard in Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and the Ivano-Frankivsk regions, witnesses and regional governors said. The Ukrainian military said air strikes were recorded in six locations.
Eleven people, including two children, were injured in the central Cherkasy region, the regional governor said on Telegram. Three multi-storey buildings and a college were damaged. One woman was injured in western Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Rescuers evacuated residents from apartment blocks in Cherkasy that had charred walls and broken windows.