Ukraine's Zelensky, Italian PM pledge defense, drone cooperation

April 16 ------ Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said they would work together to boost defense cooperation, including on drone production, after talks in Rome. No concrete details were announced; however, Zelensky said teams from the two countries would work on the details.

"We have discussed at length how to strengthen our cooperation in the field of defense," Meloni told reporters. "Italy in particular is very interested in developing joint production, especially in the area of drones, a sector in which we know very well that Ukraine has, in recent years, become a leading nation."

Zelensky had on Tuesday visited Berlin, where he and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a strategic partnership centered on defense and drones.

The Middle East war has given Kyiv a chance to showcase its drone expertise developed over more than four years of war with Russia, with Zelensky dispatching specialists and visiting countries targeted by attacks from Iran, a Russian ally. "Ukraine has developed a special format of security agreement, which we call the Drone Deal format," Zelensky said Wednesday. "Our expertise, military experience, and our defensive capabilities in the fields of drones, missiles, electronic warfare, and data exchange -- we are proposing to bring all of this together with the capabilities of our partners, so that we support each other," he explained, through an Italian interpreter.

Earlier Wednesday, he said that cooperating on air defense was Ukraine's top diplomatic priority, the day after regional authorities said Russian strikes across Ukraine killed seven people, including a child. "We need air defense missiles every single day -- every day the Russians continue their strikes on our cities," he wrote on X.

Zelensky also visited Norway on Tuesday. Zelensky and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store also agreed to boost defense and security cooperation. The day after receiving a drubbing from US President Donald Trump over Italy's unwillingness to join the Iran war, Meloni repeated the need for the US and Europe to work together on Ukraine. "A divided West and a fractured Europe would be the only true gift we could give Moscow," she said.

Meloni has been one of Washington's closest allies in Europe and has pressed Kyiv's case with Trump. But Trump told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Tuesday: "I'm shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong." Italy has denied authorization for some US aircraft involved in combat missions to land at Sigonella in Sicily. Zelensky is pressing European countries to join the PURL program, launched last year, that allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries. Italy has sent weapons -- including the French-Italian SAMP/T air defense system -- but has not signed up to PURL.

Source: straitstimes.com