Ukraine’s Zelenskyy hails ‘good meeting’ with Trump at White House

Discussions included joint production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine to bolster defence against Russian aerial attacks.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he held a “good meeting” with his United States counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, the latest sign that the once-frosty relationship between the two leaders has significantly improved in recent months.“Good meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. Thank you for all that we are doing together to protect the lives of Ukrainians and achieve peace,” Zelenskyy said after the meeting on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Freeze the conflict’: Drones slow Kazakh oil flow amid Russia-Ukraine warlist 2 of 3Romania summons Russian envoy as it shoots down third intruding dronelist 3 of 3What lies ahead for Iran’s economy as scope of US war grows beyond Hormuz?end of list“We talked with the president about licences to produce Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine,” he said on Telegram.Earlier this month, Trump agreed to allow Ukraine to jointly produce Patriot air defence interceptors, a crucial component of the country’s defence against Russian aerial attacks.Zelenskyy said the talks also centred on reviving diplomatic efforts to bring the more than four-year-running war to an end.The meeting took place behind closed doors and, according to US media, lasted just over an hour. It came on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also at the White House for talks with Trump.White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a post on X that both encounters were “positive and productive”.The Ukrainian president arrived in the US earlier to attend Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral service. He will also hold separate talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and a bipartisan group of senators as the US Senate prepares to hold its first vote on the Russia-and-Iran" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="173389" data-entity-type="topic">Lindsey O. Graham Sanctions Act on Russia and Iran.