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A Ukrainian government delegation met with major US arms manufacturers during a visit to the US, a senior Kyiv The official said this before President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with his American counterpart on Wednesday donald trump But white House later this week.
A delegation led by Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko met with representatives of Lockheed Martin and raytheonYermak wrote in a Telegram post.
Yermak did not reveal what was discussed during the talks, but said his country’s cooperation with the two companies is “growing” as Ukraine seeks more help in resisting. RussiaAll-out war, which began on February 24, 2022.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser at Yermak, posted on X that Ukraine is seeking cruise missiles, air defense systems and joint drone production agreements from the United States.
Raytheon produces Patriot air defense systems, which are vital to Ukrainian efforts to counter Russian long-range attacks and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Kiev officials are keen to acquire Tomahawks, which could allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, with precise and large weapons.
Lockheed Martin also produces a wide range of sophisticated weapons systems that can help Ukraine.
While Zelensky is widely expected to urge Trump to proceed to the Oval Office to purchase the Tomahawks, Washington has hesitated over such a move out of concern that it could escalate war and deepen tensions between the United States and Russia.
However, Trump warned Russia on Sunday that he could send Tomahawk missiles into Ukraine if Moscow does not end its war soon — potentially using that threat to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a compromise.
Putin said the Tomahawks would not change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments published Sunday that the Tomahawks issue is of “extreme concern” for Moscow.
NATO defense ministers were meeting in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss how they can maintain the pace of arms supplies to Ukraine after a sharp drop in European military aid to Kiev over the summer. European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help Kiev deter Russia’s military.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Sviridenko said he met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant on Tuesday as the two countries finalized the US-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund, part of a deal giving the US access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources.
Sviridenko said the fund is “several important decisions away” from starting work.
He said the first potential projects to receive investments in the critical minerals, energy and infrastructure sectors are taking shape.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continue almost daily attacks on each other’s energy assets, as Ukraine tries to break into Russian fuel supplies and oil revenues and Russia seeks to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before winter.
Ukraine’s armed forces attacked an oil terminal in Feodosia in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula overnight, according to a post on Telegram on Wednesday by the General Staff. It said the terminal is an important logistics link supplying fuel to Russian forces.
It said the attack damaged 16 fuel stores, which were still intact after Ukrainian forces attacked the terminal last week, causing a fire.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company, Naftogaz Group, said on Wednesday that Russia attacked one of its thermal power plants overnight, the latest in a series of major attacks on the company’s natural gas facilities and infrastructure.
At least two Ukrainian regions reported blackouts.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine