July 24 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview broadcast on Friday that cooperation between Kyiv and Washington on drones would include a U.S. factory to produce the unmanned aerial vehicles using Ukraine’s advanced technology.
Zelenskiy, interviewed by U.S. right-wing blogger Laura Loomer, said Ukraine wanted to build quickly on an initial agreement on drones clinched with Washington.
Zelenskiy said drone technology was undergoing constant change, with Ukrainian drones now able to operate over 3,000 km (1,800 miles) with the prospect of even longer distances.
Ukraine has excelled at drone innovation as it has pursued asymmetrical warfare against Russia during their four-year-old conflict, and Kyiv has shared its advances with some allies.
“Important technology. This is what we have. And America has great technology. Our drone deal is win-win,” Zelenskiy said in the interview made available on X.”We will build a great factory in the United States. We want to (have) lines of production,” he said.
In Washington, a source familiar with the matter said details of an agreement were still being worked out ahead of Zelenskiy’s talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, scheduled for Tuesday, according to a White House official.
Reuters, in a report from Kyiv this week quoting a source familiar with the matter, said Ukraine had agreed to export drones to the United States to participate in the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance programme.
Six Ukrainian companies have received permission to export about 100 drones each, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Other media outlets in Ukraine reported that the two sides had signed a statement of intent that lays the groundwork for a partnership on joint production.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and by Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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