The President of Ukraine and the NATO Secretary General met in Odessa

^{Photo: Press service of the President of Ukraine}
The meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte took place on April 15 in Odessa. This was reported by the official website of the President of Ukraine's office.

Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the need for Ukraine's air defense systems and other weapons was discussed during the meeting.

“We hope that our agreements on air defense with our partners in Europe and America will be implemented. We need Patriot systems, and we are ready to unite and find funding to purchase them. Such systems exist in the world, and our protection against the ballistic missiles of the Russians depends solely on the decisions of the leaders,” he said.

^{Photo: Press service of the President of Ukraine}
Zelensky emphasized the necessity for unity not only in Ukraine but throughout Europe for all security purposes, to produce more weapons, and to establish more joint defense enterprises.

According to Zelensky, Britain, France, and other NATO countries are already actively preparing the groundwork for a security contingent, and it is important to be “quick and effective in this process.”

In turn, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized that NATO stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.

“Our support is unquestionable. NATO continues to provide political and other types of assistance to Ukraine. Through security exercises in Wiesbaden, we are getting closer to each other. In the first three months of this year, NATO partners provided more than 20 billion euros in assistance to Ukraine. We want Ukraine to be sovereign and strong and to be able to resist any aggression in the future. Today I mentioned that Trump is negotiating with Ukraine and Russia to end the war and ensure peace,” said Rutte.

“It is not easy, especially in such violent circumstances. But we all support Mr. Trump. Our partners in Great Britain and France are also taking their steps to ensure peace in Ukraine,” added the NATO Secretary General.