Zelensky hopeful of US weapons ramp-up

Ukraine wants more air defence batteries

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a meeting with US and European allies in Rome stoked optimism that Donald Trump's administration will ramp up military aid to the war-battered country, including air defence.

The meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing — which included a senior Trump envoy — came hours after Russia's latest deadly drone-and-missile assault on Kyiv. The Ukrainian leader said he'd had a “positive dialogue” with the US president over the delivery of Patriot air defence batteries.

“It’s crucial that — following our constructive and very positive conversations with President Trump — we have all necessary political signals on the resumption of aid shipments,” Mr Zelensky told reporters in the Italian capital on Thursday. “Now we are working at staff level to ensure timely deliveries to Ukraine.”