Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with US outlet CBS News in interview broadcast May 31, 2026
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Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his hope for a major drone deal with the US, following discussions between Ukrainian and American officials.
Zelensky told the US outlet CBS News, in an interview broadcast on Sunday:
We wanted to conclude the first Drone Deal with the United States. The US wanted to test all types of our drones. We agreed to the way they wanted to test, train with, and use our systems in the air, on land, and at sea. But we still don’t have a bilateral Drone Deal – a big framework document.
Noting Ukraine’s 10-year agreements with Middle Eastern and European countries, Zelensky explained:
American companies have advanced AI technologies we don’t have. In turn, we have many things they don’t have, due to our extensive experience on the battlefield.
I think this cooperation can be huge — the most powerful of its kind in the world. We need to negotiate, not just talk about it. Take the necessary steps and do it as quickly as possible. For this, we need President Trump to say yes.
He reiterated that Ukraine needs American systems to counter Russian ballistic missiles, but said:
There is not enough anti-ballistic missile production in the United States and this could lead to a crisis in different parts of the world….60–65 anti-ballistic missiles per month, compared to current challenges, is nothing. It is no secret and Russia knows this.
Zelensky also spoke about the necessity of more sanctions on Russia’s invaders. He implicitly criticized the Trump Administration’s sanctions waivers, on countries purchasing Russian maritime oil, because of the US-Israel War on Iran.
He questioned if the American motive was to reduce global oil prices: “I think it’s about building dialogue with the Russians. But it’s not the right approach, because they don’t understand words or empathy and see it as a sign of weakness.”
Emphasizing that Russia has lost the initiative on the battlefield, the President effectively noted that the US has walked away from talks which it attended with Ukraine and Russia early this year.
He focused on “a diplomatic way – to sit down and talk – before next winter” through Europe’s presence, and possibly Turkish mediation, at the negotiating table: “But this depends on internal pressure on Putin from his society as well as American and European sanctions pressure on Russia.”
Commenting on Russia’s mass deportation of around 20,000 Ukrainian children, he said the juveniles are being treated “essentially as combatants”, with evidence that they were being trained to fight against fellow Ukrainians.
Zelensky summarized, “They taught these children to hate their native country, to hate [their] native people. And Ukrainians, can you imagine, such young Ukrainians – young boys – come to the battlefield and kill [other] Ukrainians.”
