Ukraine, US planning major arms deals, Zelensky says
A Ukrainian delegation in the U.S. this fall will work to finalize agreements to purchase American weapons and export domestically produced drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Sept. 27.
The president's comments follow his recent visit to the U.S., where he met with U.S. President Donald Trump and held a series of talks with world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
Ukraine is planning both a "Mega Deal" — a major agreement on the purchase of American weapons — and a "Drone Deal," to sell Ukrainian unmanned systems to the U.S., Zelensky said.
"We have discussed the main things, agreed with the (U.S.) president, now we are moving on to practical implementation," Zelensky said.
Kyiv has prepared a list of weapons it wants to buy from the U.S. totaling around $90 billion, Zelensky said. Kyiv is also interested in separate agreements for other types of weapons — particularly long-range missiles.
Zelensky said he could not provide more details on such an agreement because it is "a very sensitive issue."
The Telegraph reported on Sept. 26. that Zelensky asked Trump to provide Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles during their meeting at the U.N. The Tomahawk, with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers and a 450-kilogram (922 pounds) warhead, would significantly exceed the capabilities of any long-range system Ukraine has received from Western allies.
Zelensky said the government is also readying a system of controlled exports of Ukrainian-made weapons to countries beyond the U.S. Under this system, Ukraine will export military equipment it holds in surplus and spend the profits on urgently needed weapons, such as interceptor drones.
This system is designed to meet Ukraine's military needs, though the president acknowledged it might disappoint some defense companies.
"I am not sure that all of our businesses are satisfied — they want to sell everything everywhere at once — but of course our priority is replenishing the Ukrainian army," Zelensky said. "And that will be our priority until the end of the war in any case, therefore, exports will be controlled until the end of the war."
Ukraine intends to make export deals with countries in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Zelensky said, adding that proposals had already been received by several African nations and that Kyiv had already decided which country would be its first partner.
More details will be made public "in the near future," Zelensky said.
Zelensky also confirmed that Ukraine had received a Patriot air defense system from Israel that has already been operating for a month and said two additional Patriots are expected to arrive from Germany in the fall.
Zelensky first outlined Ukraine's proposal for $90 billion in U.S. weapons during a visit to Washington, D.C. in August, describing it as part of a package of postwar security guarantees. Previously the Financial Times reported that Kyiv had proposed buying $100 billion worth of American weapons, financed by its European partners.
A month later, the president announced that Ukraine was initiating the controlled export of Ukrainian weapons, particularly naval drones. Ukraine's drone industry has exploded since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, leading to the rise of over 200 drone companies.
These companies have built cheap, adaptable systems that have reshaped modern warfare — but Ukraine's production capacity has outpaced its financing.
The export of Ukraine's domestic weapons is heavily restricted, requiring hard-to-obtain permits from the State Export Service. In May, Ukrainian defense manufacturers issued a public letter to Zelensky urging him to lift export restrictions on domestically produced military-grade equipment, particularly drones.
