Zelensky agrees with Trump to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses

After speaking by phone with Putin on Thursday, Trump acknowledged being "unhappy" with the lack of progress toward peace.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday that he had agreed in a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump that the two sides would work together to strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities .

"We discussed opportunities in air defense and agreed that we will work together to strengthen the protection of our skies ," Zelensky said in a message posted on social media following his call with Trump, which comes after the US suspended shipments of Patriot missiles and other military aid already agreed to with Ukraine while it assesses the levels of its weapons stockpiles.

The two leaders also agreed to organize a meeting between their respective teams, though Zelensky did not provide a date.

"We had a detailed discussion about defense industry capabilities and joint production," said the Ukrainian president, who expressed his willingness to begin "direct" cooperation with the US side in this area, especially in the development of drones and drone-related technologies.

Zelensky already spoke with Trump about this possibility at last month 's NATO summit in The Hague, and this week announced an agreement between a Ukrainian and an American company to manufacture hundreds of thousands of drones this year.

"We also discussed mutual (arms) acquisitions and investments," wrote the Ukrainian president, who is still awaiting a response from Trump to his offer to use European funds to purchase the weapons he received for free under the previous Democratic administration.

Zelensky also reaffirmed that Ukraine supports "all efforts to end the killings and restore a just, lasting, and dignified peace ."

The conversation between Trump and Zelensky comes after the US president spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Trump said after that call with Putin that he was "unhappy" with the lack of progress toward peace in the talks.