Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington to meet President Donald Trump at the White House, aiming to secure a licence for the production of Patriot missiles and to fortify Kyiv’s anti‑ballistic missile network. The talks come after a record‑breaking night in which 390 drones targeted the capital, with most intercepted by Russian air‑defence systems.
Zelensky hopes Trump will follow up on last month’s promise to grant Kyiv a licence to co‑produce Patriot interceptor missiles. The production of PAC‑2 and PAC‑3 interceptors on Ukrainian soil, however, involves complex political, legal and technical steps that the Ukrainian president wants to accelerate.
A Raytheon delegation visited Kyiv last week, and the company expressed a readiness “to take our partnership to an even higher level,” according to Zelensky. The collaboration could enable Ukraine to manufacture the world‑class air‑defence vehicles it urgently needs.
Following his meeting with Zelensky, Trump will host another significant discussion with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders will attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died this month at age 71.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine war intensified as Ukrainian forces reportedly attacked an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea. Ukraine’s intelligence claims that Russia shared satellite imagery with Tehran, enabling Iranian strikes on U.S. military facilities and Gulf states. Trump said he would “find out if that’s true” and ask Putin about the alleged collaboration, while dismissing its impact on U.S. national security.
The weekend also saw Russian attacks on the outskirts of Moscow, with footage depicting damage to a high‑rise building in Chekhov and a warehouse fire in Berezhki. Local officials in Chekhov confirmed no casualties from the drone strikes.
In Southern Russia, civilian logistics hubs, many owned by the Russian e‑commerce giant Wildberries, fell under intense Ukrainian targeting. The raids disrupted regional supply chains and highlighted the broader economic costs of the conflict.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian Duma, declaring that enemies using “terrorist methods” against civilians would never break the Russian people. Fellow president Kassym‑Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan called for a pause in the war, suggesting a return to the Istanbul formula for negotiations, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed a freeze as impossible given Kyiv’s position.
