KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on July 15 that Ukraine needs 25 Patriot missile defense systems as he outlined three steps toward a second international peace summit at his first press conference since attending the NATO summit in Washington last week.
Zelenskiy described Patriot systems as the “most important” for Ukrainian air defense but also said Ukraine needs more F-16 fighter jets. At the NATO summit last week, officials announced that the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine had begun and would continue over the summer.
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"From the point of view of the structure of our air defense, in order to completely cover Ukraine, according to our military, we need 25 systems,” Zelenskiy said, referring to the U.S.-made Patriots. “I can't tell you how many we have or will have."
The NATO summit saw widespread pledges of additional military support for Ukraine, and on July 15, the Spanish Defense Ministry announced the donation of 10 Leopard 2A4 battle tanks, anti-tank missiles, and other equipment to Ukraine.
The ministry said the transfer of the tanks was already under way following repairs at a facility in Spain. They are expected to arrive in Poland by sea by the weekend and then be transferred by land to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Zelenskiy, speaking in Kyiv, said meetings on the preparation of the next peace summit will concern energy, freedom of navigation, and the release of prisoners.
Zelenskiy used the news conference to focus more on plans for an international peace summit than on Ukraine’s military growth. He said the second international peace summit should include officials from Russia.
During the first peace summit on June 15-16 in Switzerland, more than 90 countries focused on the most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II. As the delegations dispersed, participants lauded the launching of a process to keep the dialogue going and the prospect of a second summit in the near future.
But the fact that Moscow was not invited to the event and had derided it as a waste of time and effort cast doubts over the future of any peace process. While the summit’s final communiqué did not explicitly mention Russia, it noted that “reaching peace requires the involvement of and dialogue between all parties.”
At his news conference on July 15, Zelenskiy said, "I believe that Russia's representatives should be at the second summit."
Zelenskiy outlined three steps to a plan to a second international peace summit.
First, Zelenskiy said a meeting, most likely to be held in Qatar at the end of the month or in early August, would aim to resolve questions and prepare a plan around energy security.
That would be followed later in August by a meeting in Turkey to agree on a "fully developed" plan for food security, Zelenskiy said. A third meeting, to be held in Canada in September, is intended to create a plan on the exchange of prisoners and the return of children taken from Ukraine to Russia.
"I am setting a goal for us to have a fully ready plan in November. When the plan is ready, everything will be ready for the second summit," Zelenskiy told reporters.
Zelenskiy also responded to questions about the presidential candidacy of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
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"I think that if Donald Trump becomes president, we will work together. I'm not worried about this," Zelenskiy responded, but he did not elaborate.
He added that when he met with Republican governors while he was in Washington and was assured of the party's backing.
"There are hawks whose messages are more right-wing or more radical," Zelenskiy said on July 15. "But I want to tell you that the majority of the Republican Party supports Ukraine and the people of Ukraine."
In Washington, Zelenskiy met with several senior NATO officials and world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, as the United States heads toward a November 5 presidential election.
Biden, a Democrat and the party's presumptive candidate, expressed strong support for Ukraine throughout his presidency. But Trump, who is expected to be formally nominated as his party's convention this week just days after surviving an assassination attempt, has opposed expanded aid to Ukraine and, according to critics, has expressed pro-Russia sentiments.
Trump also has suggested that if elected in November he will resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict even before he takes office, without elaborating.