Ukraine eyes weapons and drone deals in impending visit to US

By Yuliia Dysa

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian officials will visit the United States this month or next for talks on major arms purchases and drone production deals, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday.

Zelenskiy was in the United States this week for the U.N. General Assembly and to meet U.S. President Donald Trump. He said he had shared with Trump "a certain vision of what could be done" to respond to Russia’s actions in its war on Ukraine.

Ukraine has prepared a list of about $90 billion of American weapons that it wants to buy.

"In addition to the large arms deal, which we call the 'Mega Deal', we also discussed the 'Drone Deal'. Technical groups are already starting to work on this deal," Zelenskiy told reporters, briefing them on his visit to the U.S.

"It concerns drones that the United States will purchase directly from Ukraine."

During more than three-and-a-half years of war, Ukraine has created a drone industry from scratch, with hundreds of producers making millions of drones, but it lacks the financial resources to scale up production further.

Ukraine also depends heavily on weapons supplies from its Western allies, especially for air defence.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine has already deployed one Patriot missile defence system received recently from Israel and expects to receive two more Patriot systems this autumn.

Strengthening air defence and protecting cities and residents from Russian bombardment remains a top priority for Zelenskiy's government.

In recent months, Russia has stepped up its drone and missile strikes, sometimes sending hundreds of drones a night.

Ukraine is responding by sending its own drones to hit Russian energy and oil facilities, and Zelenskiy indicated he might have other ideas.

"It's pointless to expect Russia to take conciliatory steps towards Ukraine. Accordingly, Ukraine should take appropriate steps towards Russia," he said.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, writing by Olena Harmash; Editing by Kevin Liffey)