Ukraine signs deal with American firm for joint drone production, says Volodymyr Zelensky
In a post on X, Zelensky said that the Ukrainian-American cooperation has been signed for the production of thousands of drones this year alone. The Ukrainian President said that the production is expected to increase significantly in the coming year.
"The visit to Denmark begins with an important step for our defense. An agreement has been reached on Ukrainian-American cooperation in drone production, including interceptor drones — a crystal clear priority," Zelensky said. ALSO READ | Ukraine seeks US help after biggest Russian airstrike of 537 weapons; F16 pilot killed
He further added, "Interceptors to destroy enemy drones and missiles, quadcopters for reconnaissance and fire adjustment, and long-range strike drones — all of these will be produced in much greater numbers to help us achieve our defense goals and protect the lives of Ukrainians."
Zelensky said he is also in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom to start joint production.
He said that Ukraine plans to sign agreements in the Summer to start exporting weapon production technologies.
This comes just two days after the US reportedly stopped the delivery of air-defense interceptors and other weapons intended for Ukraine and other weapons meant for Ukraine, instead using those to beef up Pentagon stocks. ALSO READ | Trump's Big Beautiful Bill failing because of Ukraine weapons freeze? Here's the key link
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Trump administration official and two congressional aides, that Washington's decision to withhold the arms deliveries to Ukraine reflects the Trump administration's loosening commitment to aiding Kyiv in its fight against Russia.
Following a Pentagon review of US military assistance, 'this decision was made to put America's interests first', said Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman.
The shipments, which included Patriot air-defense interceptors, air-to-air missiles, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and surface-to-surface rockets, artillery rounds, and Stinger surface-to-air missiles, were in Poland when they were halted.
Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy at the Pentagon, said that Defense Department would provide President Donald Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine that are "consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
US-Iran deal on cards? Donald Trump meets Saudi defence minister; Tehran sets terms for dialogue
Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (left) (Image: X) and US President Donald Trump (right) (Image: AP) US President Donald Trump met Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, according to Fox News. Prince Khalid, who is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , also held talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth . The meeting took place ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Monday meeting with Trump at the White House. Focus on de-escalation and peace: The meeting is crucial for Saudi Arabia as it wants to ease tensions in the region after the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran. Talks also reportedly covered broader issues of ending the war in Gaza, negotiating the release of remaining hostages and working toward Middle East peace. The Trump administration wants to push for a historic peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel in the coming months. Fox news quoting their sources suggested that the meeting was not only about normalizing ties of Saudi Arabia with Israel but also about necessary steps required to reach it. The meeting comes just days after Trump said other countries have expressed interest in joining the Abraham Accords. The recent Middle East conflict dubbed the '12-Day War' saw Israel and the US target Iran's nuclear sites. Strengthening the Abraham Accords: The Abraham Accords, signed at the White House in September 2020 during Trump's first term are a set of agreements that aimed to normalize relations between United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on June 25 that expanding the accords is one of the president's 'key objectives' and predicted 'big announcements' about new countries joining soon. Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt named Syria as one of the nations Trump is eager to bring into the accords, noting their historic meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier this year during the US President's visit to the Middle East. Saudi-Iran dialogue: The Saudi defence minister spoke on the phone with Iran's Chief of the General Staff, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi on June 29. 'We discussed developments in the region and the efforts being made to maintain security and stability,' Bin Salman wrote on X. . Witkoff is also planning to meet Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo next week to restart nuclear talks, according to Axios. The Iranian foreign ministry said Araghchi spoke on the phone Thursday with Norwegian foreign minister Espen Eide to discuss efforts to ease regional tensions. Trump on Iran talks: Speaking to local media on Thursday, Trump said Iran wants to initiate talks with the US and 'it is time that they do.' He added that the US does not want to hurt Iran. 'I know they want to meet and if it is necessary I will do it,' Trump said. Iran's conditions for talks: In an email interview with ANI, Iran's Ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi, said any negotiations with the US are meaningless unless Washington offers a 'credible guarantee' to prevent future acts of aggression by Israel and the US. 'As for negotiations with the United States, considering their betrayal of diplomacy and complicity with the Zionist regime in launching illegal attacks on Iran, while a diplomatic process was still ongoing, there will be no meaning or value in any talks unless a credible guarantee is provided to prevent the recurrence of such acts of aggression,' he said. Elahi was referring to two major military operations last month. On June 13, Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion,' carrying out widespread airstrikes on Iranian soil that targeted nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command bases. Several senior IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists were reportedly killed. This was followed by US strikes on June 21–22 under 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' which also targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Iran has strongly condemned both operations as blatant violations of international law and the UN Charter.
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
Oil prices steady on solid job market, tariff uncertainty
Oil prices were little changed on Friday as a solid job market bolstered the case for the US Federal Reserve keeping interest rates on hold, with investors also awaiting clarity on President Donald Trump's plans for tariffs on various countries. Brent crude futures rose 1 cent, or 0.01 per cent, to $68.81 a barrel by 0036 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude firmed 3 cents, or 0.04 per cent, to $67.03. Trade was thinned by the US Independence Day holiday. The US labour market receded as a risk when new data on Thursday showed that American firms added a more-than-expected 147,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.1 per cent - signs the economy remained resilient despite the turbulence and uncertainty over how big tariffs will be. President Trump said Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on goods sent to the United States, a clear shift from earlier pledges to strike scores of individual deals. Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa on Thursday the letters would be sent to 10 countries at a time, laying out tariff rates of 20 per cent to 30 per cent. Trump's 90-day pause on higher US tariffs ends on July 9, and several large trading partners have yet to clinch trade deals, including the European Union and Japan. Keeping prices in check, however, OPEC+, the world's largest group of oil producers, is set to announce an increase of 411,000 barrels per day in production for August as it looks to regain market share, four delegates from the group told Reuters. The US also imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said. Barclays on Thursday said it raised its Brent oil price forecast by $6 to $72 per barrel for 2025 and by $10 to $70 a barrel for 2026 on an improved outlook for demand.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
25 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Trump, disappointed by call with Putin, to speak with Zelenskyy on Friday
US President Donald Trump said early on Friday he came away disappointed from a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin because it does not appear the latter is looking to stop Russia's war against Ukraine. US attempts to end Russia's war in Ukraine through diplomacy have largely stalled, and Trump has faced growing calls - including from some Republicans - to increase pressure on Putin to negotiate in earnest. After speaking to Putin on Thursday, Trump plans to speak to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, he said in remarks to reporters on his return to Washington from a trip to Iowa. "I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop, and that's too bad." The two leaders did not discuss a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Kyiv during the nearly hour-long conversation, a summary provided by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov showed. Within hours of their concluding the call, an apparent Russian drone attack sparked a fire in an apartment building in a northern suburb of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said, indicating little change in the trajectory of the conflict. In Kyiv itself, Reuters witnesses reported explosions and sustained heavy machine-gun fire as air defense units battled drones over the capital, while Russian shelling killed five people in the east. "I didn't make any progress with him at all," Trump told reporters on Thursday. Zelenskyy told reporters in Denmark earlier in the day that he hopes to speak to Trump as soon as Friday about the pause in some weapons shipments first disclosed this week. Speaking to reporters as he left Washington for Iowa, Trump said "we haven't" completely paused the flow of weapons but blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for sending so many weapons that it risked weakening US defenses. "We're giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons. But we are giving weapons," he said. "And we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't (completely stopped). You know, Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves." The diplomatic back-and-forth comes as low stockpiles have prompted the US to paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine, sources told Reuters earlier, just as it faces a Russian summer offensive and growing attacks on civilian targets. Putin, for his part, has continued to assert he will stop his invasion only if the conflict's "root causes" have been tackled, making use of Russian shorthand for the issue of NATO enlargement and Western support for Ukraine, including the rejection of any notion of Ukraine joining the NATO alliance. Russian leaders are also angling to establish greater control over political decisions made in Kyiv and other Eastern European capitals, NATO leaders have said. The pause in US weapons shipments caught Ukraine off-guard and has generated widespread confusion about Trump's current views on the conflict, after saying just last week he would try to free up a Patriot missile defense system for use by Kyiv. Ukrainian leaders called in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington, and caution that the pause in its weapons shipments would weaken Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia. The Pentagon's move has meant a cut in deliveries of the Patriot defense missiles that Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said that while Russia was open to continuing to speak with the US, any peace negotiations needed to happen between Moscow and Kyiv. That comment comes amid some signs that Moscow is trying to avoid a three-way format for possible peace talks. The Russians asked American diplomats to leave the room during such a meeting in Istanbul in early June, Ukrainian officials have said.
