Zelensky Says Ukraine Seeks Long-Range Arms Deals With US

Ukraine is ready to secure additional deals with the US on arms deliveries, including long-range weapons, in addition to an existing $90 billion agreement, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky said he wasn't able to share more details as he spoke with reporters in Kyiv on Saturday. Ukraine currently relies on its own long-range air capabilities - chiefly drones - to reach military and energy targets often deep inside Russian territory. 

A Ukrainian delegation will have technical meetings in the US at the end of this month or in early October for the practical implementation of the weapons purchase agreement, Zelensky said. The broad contours were agreed to with US President Donald Trump during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week, he added. 

Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to members of the media in Ukraine's Presidential Office in Kyiv on September 27.

Technical teams from Kyiv and Washington will also start work on details of the purchase of Ukrainian drones by the US, Zelensky said. 

Separately, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will meet with officials in the US in October on potential American projects in Ukraine as a part of the joint investment fund agreed to in the spring. 

Zelensky also said Ukraine is speaking with partner countries about sharing methods it's developed to counter drone swarms that have been a feature of Russia's invasion since 2022.

"We will dispatch a consulting group to some countries regarding how to counteract such steps. Some countries will send representatives to Ukraine to learn," Zelensky said. 

Yuliia Svyrydenko during an interview in Kyiv on July 20.

Ukraine received a US-made Patriot air defence system from Israel a month ago, Zelensky said. It expects to receive two more systems in the fall, he added, without specifying where the equipment would come from. 

Addressing recent breaches of the airspace of bordering countries by Russian drones, Zelensky said that on Sept. 10, 92 UAVs were headed to Poland. Ukraine intercepted most of them, with 19 reaching eastern Poland. 

Separately, a Hungarian drone was sighted in Ukraine this week, according to Zelensky, which Hungary's military has denied.  

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted a map on the X social media site on Saturday, which he claimed showed the route followed by Friday's alleged drone flight. "We are still waiting for Hungary to explain," Sybiha said.