Ukraine's foreign minister to negotiate additional air defence systems at G7 meeting in Italy
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will visit Italy to take part in the Group of Seven ministerial meeting on 17-19 April.
As reported by Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry press service, Kuleba will take part in a special session dedicated to strengthening international support for Ukraine.
He will hold bilateral talks with the heads of diplomacy of the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, the United States, the EU and the NATO Secretary General.
Following up on the Ukrainian president's contacts, the key topics of the talks will be the urgent provision of additional batteries of Patriots and other air defence systems to Ukraine to protect it from Russian terror, countering cooperation between the Russian and North Korean regimes, and the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
On 12 April, Kuleba said that active negotiations with Ukraine’s allies to obtain two batteries of Patriot air defence systems and one SAMP/T system were underway.
On 13 April, Germany announced the urgent supply of one Patriot anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine.
Negotiations with Ukraine’s allies take place against the backdrop of Ukraine's lack of air defence missiles. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that the Russians were able to destroy the Trypillia Thermal Power Plant (TPP) because Ukraine had completely run out of missiles to defend it.