Zelenskyy seeks U.S. drone deal, urges more pressure on Putin

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hopes Ukraine is “on the way” to a U.S. drone deal, while pressing Washington and European capitals to turn “more pressure” on Vladimir Putin and force him toward negotiations.

In an interview that aired May 31 and was taped May 29, the Ukrainian president cast sanctions, air defenses and drone production as the concrete tools that could shift the war’s balance after more than four years of fighting. He said world leaders need to add “more pressure,” including sanctions, and argued that Ukraine must find a diplomatic way to “sit and speak” with Russia before winter arrives.

Zelenskyy tied that appeal to a fresh warning about the battlefield. He said Ukrainian intelligence expects Russia to prepare another large-scale attack using drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. He pointed to the latest massive strike, which he said included about 600 Iranian-made Shahed drones and more than 30 ballistic missiles, and said Ukraine’s biggest air-defense shortfall remains anti-ballistic missiles.

That gap was the reason Zelenskyy sent a letter Monday to President Donald Trump and Congress asking for more Patriot interceptors. The request followed what Ukrainian and U.S. officials described as Russia’s largest aerial assault on Kyiv since the war began in 2022. The White House did not respond to the request, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is changing production to deliver more munitions and that Europe has increased support.

The push for more weapons is running alongside a parallel effort to build a drone and defense-technology partnership with the United States. In mid-May, U.S. and Ukrainian officials drafted a memorandum that could let Ukraine export military technology to the United States and open the door to joint drone-manufacturing ventures with American companies. Ukrainian officials said they first raised drone cooperation with the White House in August 2025, and Zelenskyy said nearly 20 countries are now involved in related arrangements, with four agreements already signed.

The diplomatic track has produced only partial movement. U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva on Feb. 17 and 18 followed earlier discussions in Abu Dhabi and an earlier temporary pause on attacks on energy infrastructure, along with a prisoner exchange. Zelenskyy said in February that Moscow was playing for time, and territorial issues remained the main obstacle. The Institute for the Study of War has said Russian advances were stagnating while Ukrainian forces used novel tactics and operational concepts.

Zelenskyy said battlefield gains over the next six months could strengthen Ukraine’s hand in future peace talks. Kyiv also synchronized new sanctions with European Union measures on May 30, underscoring that the pressure campaign is aimed not only at Moscow, but at keeping Washington and Europe aligned behind it.