Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Meloni and discussed these issues

Rome: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Thursday in Rome to discuss important topics, such as Ukraine’s defense requirements and its progress toward EU membership.

“President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni in Rome,” the Ukraine President’s Office stated in a statement. Addressing Ukraine’s defense requirements, especially improving its air defense, was one of the main subjects of their talks.

“The Italian government’s approval of the eleventh military assistance package was acknowledged by the president. Achieving a fair and sustainable peace depends on bolstering Ukrainian troops on the battlefield and defending towns and cities against Russian assaults, the statement said.

“We now want to hasten certain of this package’s components. We rely on the quantity of missiles, which is crucial for our combined Italian-French SAMP/T air defense systems. We are now getting a batch of missiles, but another batch must be finalized before it can be handed to us,” Zelenskyy said.

The President also emphasized the ongoing preparations for the next Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2025), which is set for July 10–11 in Rome.

“With an emphasis on cultural heritage, our teams have begun preparing for this year’s recovery conference. We are mostly depending on Italy here. We will interact with France individually and are also working with UNESCO. The Ukrainian president went on, “I would want Italy to play a major role in the restoration of our historical legacy because they are really good at it.

Zelenskyy and Meloni also focused particularly on helping Ukraine on its route to EU membership.

Zelenskyy also spoke about backing efforts to defend Ukrainian cities, villages, and citizens from Russian attacks.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, “During my meeting with @GiorgiaMeloni here in Italy, we discussed crucial support to protect our people, cities, and villages from Russian strikes, like the recent horrific attack on Zaporizhzhia.”

“I really appreciate Italy’s unwavering backing of Ukraine’s air defense. Our priorities today were to fortify our air shield, engage with allies to advance peace, and cooperate on rebuilding projects that would benefit both countries by generating employment, enhancing our economies, and promoting social progress,” the message said.