In Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with the representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Canada, and the Netherlands to NATO.
The Head of State thanked the partners for their support and noted the contribution of each country to Ukraine’s defense. The President expressed gratitude to Germany for the Patriot systems, to the United States for the opportunity to purchase weapons and air defense systems through the PURL initiative, to the United Kingdom and France for the missiles, to Canada and the Netherlands for their contributions to the PURL initiative, and to all other countries for their support and assistance. Volodymyr Zelensky urged all countries not yet participating to join the PURL initiative.
“I thank all of you for coming to Ukraine, to Kyiv. This is very important and symbolic for us, and it is certainly a very important signal of support. Thank you for ensuring that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people can rely on your countries, on NATO’s support, and on the leaders of your states. This matters greatly during wartime,” the President said.
During the meeting, the parties discussed in detail the possibilities for strengthening the protection of Ukraine’s energy system ahead of winter: the procurement of additional air defense systems and missiles for them, as well as the enhancement of Ukraine’s combat aviation.
The Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, noted that the coordination of the November and December aid packages is ongoing in line with Ukraine’s needs.
“I want to make sure everything is working properly – that the military is getting everything it needs, that Patriot air defense systems and PAC-3 and PAC-2 missiles are being delivered as quickly as possible so that you can protect critical infrastructure as winter approaches,” emphasized Matthew Whitaker.
The meeting also focused on intensifying pressure on Russia. The Head of State thanked the United States for the sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, and the European Union for the 19th sanctions package. Volodymyr Zelensky called for continued work in this direction to further increase pressure on Russia and compel it to end the war.
The meeting was attended by Matthew Whitaker, Permanent Representative of the United States to NATO; Detlef Wächter, Permanent Representative of Germany to NATO; David Cvach, Permanent Representative of France to NATO; Alessandro Azzoni, Permanent Representative of Italy to NATO; Jacek Najder, Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO; Heidi Hulan, Permanent Representative of Canada to NATO; Ingrid Southworth, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to NATO; Hans Sandee, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to NATO; Julie Davis, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the United States to Ukraine; Natalka Cmoc, Ambassador of Canada to Ukraine; Alle Dorhout, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine; Heiko Thoms, Ambassador of Germany to Ukraine; Piotr Łukasiewicz, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Poland to Ukraine; Sébastien Surun, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of France to Ukraine; Charlotte Surun, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the United Kingdom to Ukraine; and Francesco Pesce, Deputy Ambassador of Italy to Ukraine.
