UPDATE - Ukrainian President Zelenskyy holds talks with visiting NATO chief in Kyiv

ADDS REMARKS FROM PRESS CONFERENCE IN UKRAINE'S CAPITAL KYIV

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday held talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who arrived in the capital Kyiv on a surprise visit.

“Ukraine and NATO have reached the highest level of relations since our independence, but not yet the highest possible level,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on X.

Saying that this subject was discussed during their meeting in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said they also talked about countering Russia, furthering Ukraine-NATO cooperation, and “ways to truly join our efforts.”

He thanked Stoltenberg for supporting Ukraine and visiting the country’s capital.

For his part, Stoltenberg said on X that while the situation is difficult, it is not too late for Ukraine to “prevail.”

Indicating that further support for Ukraine is “on the way,” Stoltenberg said NATO is also stepping up “for the long haul,” and putting Kyiv on an “irreversible path” to the alliance.

At a press conference with Stoltenberg following their meeting, Zelenskyy said US military aid to his country has started to arrive, but the amount that has come is still not enough to "fill our army and equip the appropriate number of brigades."

Zelenskyy also touched on the importance of signing security agreements, saying they really helped Ukraine a great deal, especially when they were expecting support from the US.

"Over the last six months, the systems, or sometimes parts from the corresponding systems, have been provided thanks to the funding donated via the nine agreements on security guarantees," Zelenskyy also said.

He went on to say that Ukraine expects positive results on the number of missiles for Patriot missile defense systems, adding that they got an assurance that there will be no delays in this process following a recent Ukraine-NATO Council meeting.

He also said Ukraine deserves to be invited into NATO because of “our strength, our protection of common values, our importance for the future of the entire Euro-Atlantic community."

"We believe that the alliance should not be afraid of its own power and has no right to deviate from its own rules just because the Kremlin wants such a deviation. I thank every leader and the absolute majority of NATO allies that support Ukraine," he said.

Stoltenberg stressed NATO's focus on Patriots, as well as the need to refurbish existing systems and ensure that already-delivered systems work as they should and have enough ammunition.

He also touched on the importance of other air defense systems such as NASAMS and IRIS-T, underlining the need for a layered air defense.

“Therefore we focus on a wide range of different systems and continue to work with allies to make sure that they deliver and turn their commitments and announcements into real delivery of weapons and systems as soon as possible,” he said.