Vienna, June 16, 2025: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Monday that he plans to discuss the purchase of American weapons with former US President Donald Trump during the upcoming G7 summit, clarifying that the conversation will not involve fresh US military aid.
“We are not talking to America today about new assistance. One of the issues I will discuss with President Trump at the meeting is the defence package that Ukraine is ready to buy,” Zelenskyy stated during a brief stopover in Vienna en route to Canada.
Having led Ukraine through more than three years of full-scale war with Russia, Zelenskyy reiterated the importance of US-European unity.
“I can’t imagine and I don’t want to imagine how to live and fight without the help of the United States,” he said, stressing that all efforts must be made to preserve the transatlantic alliance.
Zelenskyy described the upcoming G7 summit as a pivotal opportunity to exert pressure on Moscow.
“We will see what kind of pressure we can all exert to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin, so that he stops the fire, stops the war,” he told reporters.
In addition to security matters, Zelenskyy said the G7 leaders would discuss sanctions against Russia and strategies for utilizing frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
During his Vienna visit, Zelenskyy met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. The two leaders discussed Austria’s possible contribution to Ukraine’s postwar recovery — including demining operations, energy cooperation, and food security initiatives.
While reaffirming Austria’s military neutrality, Van der Bellen emphasized that his country is not politically neutral.
“Austria remains militarily neutral, but it is not so politically,” the Austrian president stated.
Austria maintained relatively warm ties with Moscow before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. However, diplomatic and economic relations have notably deteriorated over the past three years.
Zelenskyy’s visit drew criticism from Austria’s far-right opposition party, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPOe), which is currently leading in national polls. The party has repeatedly questioned Vienna’s alignment with EU support for Kyiv.
Zelenskyy is expected to continue his diplomatic outreach in Canada later this week, where Ukraine’s war, reconstruction, and Western support will top the G7 agenda.
