Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Sweden on Thursday for discussions with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson focused on strengthening bilateral defence cooperation and expanding military support for Kyiv amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Both the Ukrainian presidency and the Swedish government confirmed the visit, with Zelenskyy stating that the two countries were preparing “a major defence package” and working toward an agreement that could eventually provide Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader has increasingly sought to deepen military partnerships with allied nations by offering the battlefield expertise Ukraine has developed during more than four years of fighting against Russia’s invasion, particularly in drone warfare and air defence operations.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukrainian specialists have already assisted several countries in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf Arab region, in strengthening their air defence systems during the ongoing Iran conflict. He also claimed that Ukrainian experts had helped at American military bases in the region.
Ukraine has additionally entered into joint drone production arrangements with several European Union nations, many of which fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin may harbour broader military ambitions extending beyond Ukraine. Ukrainian drone operations have become a key factor in the conflict, with unmanned systems patrolling the 1,250-kilometre front line and conducting strikes deep behind Russian positions, targeting supply routes, logistics hubs and troop movements.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment released late Wednesday that Ukraine’s drone campaigns were significantly limiting Russia’s ability to transport troops and maintain frontline positions.
“Ukraine’s successful mid-range and front-line drone strike campaigns are constraining Russia’s capacity to move personnel to combat zones and sustain operations at the front,” the think tank noted.
Russia currently controls around 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The war has inflicted massive casualties on both sides. The head of Britain’s GCHQ intelligence agency said on Wednesday that nearly half a million Russian soldiers had been killed since the conflict began.
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Despite those losses, Russia continues to maintain a major advantage in long-range ballistic missile capabilities. Moscow has repeatedly used missiles and drones to target Ukraine’s power infrastructure and urban centres throughout the war.
Last weekend, Russian forces launched nearly 90 missiles along with hundreds of drones at Kyiv in what Ukrainian officials described as an attempt to overwhelm the country’s air defence systems as part of an intensified aerial campaign targeting civilian areas.
Amid growing concerns over escalating attacks, Zelenskyy has written to US President Donald Trump and members of Congress requesting additional American-made air defence ammunition and systems to counter Russian ballistic missile strikes, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.
In his letter, Zelenskyy reportedly stressed the urgent need for more Patriot PAC-3 missiles and advanced air defence systems, warning that supplies reaching Ukraine had become dangerously inadequate as the ongoing Iran conflict diverted American military stockpiles elsewhere.
Kyiv remains on alert for further large-scale Russian bombardments. However, despite Moscow’s recent warning urging foreign diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of what the Russian Foreign Ministry described as possible “systemic strikes” on Kyiv, diplomatic missions have largely continued normal operations. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that all foreign embassies and diplomatic offices in Kyiv remained operational despite the heightened security concerns.
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