Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, during which the sides discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, the situation on the front line, and further support for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said this on social media.
According to Zelenskyy, the main topic of the conversation was ensuring that Ukraine’s Patriot systems have the missiles they need to defend against Russian ballistic strikes.
“The key thing right now is missiles for the Patriots, to protect our people from Russian ballistic attacks. That’s what we talked about first and foremost — the possibility of supporting our Patriot systems with the necessary missiles,” the president said.
The interlocutors also discussed the situation on the front line. Zelenskyy briefed the chancellor on the current state of hostilities and stressed that Russia continues to spread disinformation about the course of the war.
The president refuted statements by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claiming that Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk Region had supposedly been captured.
“On the eve of America’s Independence Day, Putin decided to lie to the world and to the President of the United States about the situation on the front line, claiming that the Russians had supposedly captured Kostyantynivka. That is not true — it is simply another Russian lie,” Zelenskyy stressed.
The head of state added ironically that if Kostyantynivka really is under Russia’s control, as the Kremlin claims, then Putin could easily meet him there to seek a diplomatic end to the war.
The president also thanked Germany for its comprehensive support for Ukraine and highly praised its role in strengthening the security of Ukrainians.