Zelenskyy and von der Leyen prepare a decision on financing Ukraine's defense

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed financing Ukraine's defense and new joint projects between Ukraine and the EU. The parties agreed to continue negotiations at a meeting in New York.

Zelenskyy reported this on the evening of September 17 after a telephone conversation with the President of the European Commission.

According to the president, one of the main topics was Ukraine's defense resilience. In particular, the parties discussed in detail the issue of financing Ukraine's defense and possible solutions to overcome it.

"We are preparing a solution to this problem and agreed to meet in New York on the sidelines of the General Assembly," Zelenskyy said.

Separately, the president noted the European Commission's initiative to use the remaining funds from the SAFE program for new joint defense projects of Ukraine and the European Union. Zelenskyy called this proposal timely and stated Kyiv's readiness to work on other initiatives that could strengthen Europe's security.

The day before, von der Leyen during her annual address to the European Parliament announced that the remainder of SAFE funds is planned to be allocated to a new program of joint projects with Ukrainian defense companies.

She also stated the EU's intention to strengthen Ukraine's air defense. Among the priorities, the European Commission names accelerating the delivery of Patriot interceptor missiles and developing a more affordable modular missile defense system together with Ukraine. The basis for such cooperation should be the Freya project, combining Ukrainian combat experience with European technologies and production capabilities.

Zelenskyy thanked von der Leyen for her attention to Ukraine and European security issues in her annual speech and stressed the need for practical implementation of the proposed defense initiatives.

Sources: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission