On the sidelines of the NATO Parliamentary Speakers' Summit, which took place on 08-09 July this year in Washington, D.C., the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with Co-Chairs of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus Marcy Kaptur and Mike Quigley and Co-Chairs of the Senate Ukraine Caucus Richard Durbin and Roger Wicker.
During the meetings, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament focused on the security situation in Ukraine, the situation at the frontline and the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in terms of armaments.
"We discussed with our colleagues the urgency of additional air defence systems. This is the main need. Ukrainian cities are under constant shelling and it is crucial for us to get additional air defence systems and missiles for them," said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also emphasised the issue of supplying artillery systems and shells, which is a priority for Ukraine. "It is extremely important for us to continue to provide long-range missiles," said Ruslan Stefanchuk.
He also stressed the importance of providing Ukraine with F-16 aircraft, increasing the number of places for training Ukrainian pilots and engineering staff for F-16 aircraft.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed hope that the United States will provide its own F-16 aircraft after Ukrainian pilots complete their training.
During the meeting, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament called on his colleagues to facilitate the adoption of a decision to lift the ban by our partners to strike on russian military targets.
In conclusion, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his deep gratitude to the United States of America, the U.S. Congress for their bipartisan and bicameral support, and to the entire American people for their continued support of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion.