“If you donʼt serve the state in parliament, serve the state at the front.” Zelensky is ready to change the law on mobilization

President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to discuss amendments to the law on mobilization so that Ukrainian MPs can go to the front.

He said this at a closed meeting with journalists, and was quoted by Interfax-Ukraine, Grunt, Ukrinform, and Suspilne.

"MPs will either have to serve in parliament in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, or I am ready to negotiate with parliament representatives a law on changes to mobilization so that deputies can go to the front," the president said.

On US aid in the Middle East

The US military contacted the Ukrainian military with a request for expertise on countering Shahed.

"The Americans approached us several times. There were several requests either for assistance to one or another state, or for assistance to the Americans. Our military is in contact at various levels. We received letters, calls, and requests from all military institutions [...] All our institutions received these requests. We responded to them," Zelensky said.

The president added that three “serious teams” of specialists, each numbering dozens of people, have gone to the Middle East to provide expertise and assistance in countering the Iranian “Shaheds”. This is not about being present somewhere in operations, but about “protection and full expertise on our part on how to deal with the “Shaheds”.

He also said that some Ukrainian manufacturers sold interceptor drones abroad without the stateʼs knowledge. Zelensky stressed that foreign partners should not buy individual drones, but a full-fledged defense system along with Ukrainian expertise in its application.

At the same time, the US President Donald Trump, commenting on aid to Ukraine, said that Zelensky is the last person from whom the US needs help.

Agreement with the USA

Zelensky would like to sign a drone deal with the US "for years" — worth about $35-50 billion. Ukraine is also ready for joint production. Distribution — 50% Ukrainian engineers, 50% — American.

In peacetime, if the US needs a larger quantity, it will have a first-mover right to the entire volume. The same applies to Ukraine.

On the impact of the war in the Middle East on arms supplies to Ukraine

According to the president, there is a risk to Ukraineʼs provision of air defense missiles. As an alternative, Ukraine is considering European SAMP/T systems and is agreeing to be first in line for them in case of successful anti-ballistic tests.

"During the meeting with Emmanuel [Macron], the most important and main topic of discussion was precisely the alternative [to Patriot systems] in the context of air defense systems. SAMP/T is the only alternative in Europe today. We will see this year whether the new SAMP/T systems knock down ballistics. This year we will receive a system that we will test against ballistics. Therefore, if it works, it will be a good help in the long run," Zelensky said.

Restoring "Druzhba"

According to Zelensky, the restoration of the “Druzhba” oil pipeline is no different from the lifting of sanctions against the Russian Federation.

"The first question is, did everyone decide to resume Russian oil exports? I said that it is difficult for me because the leaders want to skip this step. This is wrong. The question is more global: do we sell Russian oil or do we not sell it. Because I am being forced to restore “Druzhba”. How is this different from lifting sanctions on Russians?" he told reporters.

"Why can we, in one case, tell the United States of America that we are against lifting sanctions, and on the other hand, force Ukraine to resume oil through “Druzhba” at a political price that pays for anti-European policy? This is also a kind of lifting of sanctions," the president added.

Peace negotiations

The US has proposed postponing the trilateral meeting to next week due to the situation in the Middle East. The US is ready to host the meeting, Ukraine agrees to this, but the Russian side is not ready to fly to the US.

"We want to have a trilateral meeting. We believe that meetings are important. We are releasing people from captivity, there are results, there is progress," the president emphasized.

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