Zelenskiy lauds aid package, asks Blinken for air defences

"And that's going to make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield." Zelenskiy lauded the "crucial" U.S. aid, stressing the country's biggest deficit - air defence. Zelenskiy told Blinken that Ukraine needs two air defence batteries for the northeastern city of Kharkiv, being pummelled by Russian air strikes.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a new U.S. weapons package had already started arriving in Ukraine with more supplies on the way during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday.

"We also know that in the near term the assistance is now on the way, some of it has already arrived and more of it will be arriving," said Blinken. "And that's going to make a real difference against the ongoing Russian aggression on the battlefield."

Zelenskiy lauded the "crucial" U.S. aid, stressing the country's biggest deficit - air defence. Zelenskiy told Blinken that Ukraine needs two air defence batteries for the northeastern city of Kharkiv, being pummelled by Russian air strikes.