During a press conference on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at potential changes on the ministerial level in the Ukrainian government and said he’s confident in being able to work with Donald Trump if the latter is re-elected.

Zelensky also said that to protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, it might require attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Here are the main takeaways from Monday’s press conference.

Working with Trump

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a town hall event at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

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Regarding Trump’s potential re-election, Zelensky said the Republican Party is different from the Democratic Party, but there is widespread support for Ukraine among the Republicans nonetheless, and he’s confident he can work with Trump to secure future US assistance.

“If Mr. Donald Trump becomes president, we will work. I am not afraid of it,” said Zelensky

“We have bipartisan support and we have strong relations with the Republican part of the US political system,” he added.

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal looks on as he meets with Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, during his visit to Kyiv, on July 19, 2023, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by CLODAGH KILCOYNE / POOL / AFP)

In response to a journalist inquiry, Zelensky hinted that personnel changes could take place on the ministerial level without elaborating on who might be replaced.

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“Regarding changes in the government, if there are, if they happen, you will definitely know about it. We can’t just talk about the replacement of the prime minister, this suggests that there may be changes in the government, probably, maybe. We are engaged in this process,” Zelensky said. 

He did not say whether Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will be replaced, a rumor circulating in Ukrainian society following a recent report by Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources reportedly familiar with Zelensky’s team.

“Shmyhal is one of those important people in our government, he is the prime minister. Of course, I will also discuss some things with him,” he said.

Battlefield assessments

This handout photograph released on February 25, 2024, by the press service of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, shows Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky (L) visiting the frontline positions at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / Armed Forces of Ukraine / AFP)

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Regarding Russia’s renewed offensive in the Kharkiv region, Zelensky praised Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky and said any issues pertaining to the Russian breakthrough should be a post-war discussion.

“Syrsky has a serious challenge. We have been waiting for weapons and a vote on the [military] package for almost eight months,” said Zelensky.

He said he would not speculate on what might have happened if former commander-in-chief turned British ambassador Valery Zaluzhny had been in place and praised Syrsky’s work in defending Kharkiv.

In this handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Presidential press-service on July 28, 2023, Ukraine's military commander-in-chief, Valery Zaluzhny (C) stands in attention as he takes part in the Day of Ukrainian Statehood ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of Ukrainian independence, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)

“It is difficult to say what would have happened if the leadership of the army had not changed … These questions and conversations are post-war. We must respect and be grateful to everyone who fights for Ukraine and defends the state.”

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“I do not believe that if anyone had been in Syrsky’s place, there would have been no breakthrough. I think he would be. Because this is what the Russians wanted. They had the task of entering and occupying Kharkiv. Syrsky’s plus in this situation is that he knows Kharkiv. He won it back,” he said. 

Security agreements with other countries

Zelensky said Ukraine has received about $38 billion from security cooperation agreements concluded with partners thus far.

“Ukraine already has relevant agreements with 23 countries. They have everything – from money to weapons, from humanitarian assistance to reconstruction, cyber security, air defense, etc. The approximate amount of these agreements is $38 billion. I believe that this is a strong result,” he said, adding that he is waiting for agreements from nine more countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Defence Minister hold a press statement after a visit to a military training area in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, north-eastern Germany, on June 11, 2024, where Ukrainian soldiers are trained on the Patriot air defence missile system. (Photo by Jens Bittner / POOL / AFP)

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However, he said Ukraine needs 25 Patriot missile systems to effectively protect its skies, which it lacks at present.

He also said some unspecified NATO member states are skeptical of Ukraine, but those countries meanwhile are using gas from Ukraine’s gas reserves.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban shake hands after thir joint press conference in the Karmelita monastery, the Prime Minister's office in Budapest on June 12, 2024. As Moscow's closest EU ally despite its invasion of Ukraine, Orban is increasingly stoking fears of a war between the West and Russia he blames on Brussels and NATO. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)

Regarding the use of long-range missiles from Ukraine’s Western partners, Zelensky said there have been “some positive signals.”

This handout photo taken on May 25, 2022 and provided by the South Korean Defence Ministry in Seoul shows a US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) firing a missile from an undisclosed location on South Korea's east coast during a live-fire exercise aimed to counter North Korea?s missile test. North Korea fired a volley of missiles early on May 25, including a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile, just hours after US President Joe Biden left Asia after a trip overshadowed by Pyongyang's sabre-rattling. (Photo by Handout / South Korean Defence Ministry / AFP)

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“It needs to be pressed as well, because it’s absolutely fair. There’s a point where a missile or a corresponding bomb comes out, and we understand where it's coming from, and it’s not fair that we can’t respond to where it came from. It’s an absolutely fair response, to which we have the right,” Zelensky said.

(From L) Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belgium's Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder listen as they meet with Belgian F-16 pilots, instructors and technical staff during an inspection visit of Ukraine's President to Belgium in an agreement to help Kyiv battle Russia's invasion, at the Melsbroek military airport in Steenokkerzeel, north-east of Brussels on May 28, 2024. Zelensky visits Belgium to ink the latest in a string of security accords with Western allies. Belgium committed to delivering 30 F-16 fighter jets by 2028 to help Kyiv battle Russia's invasion. (Photo by Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP)

Regarding F-16s, Zelensky reiterated that the current number is not enough. He said pilot training time needs to be reduced, the training base expanded, and the number of jets increased – all in the near future – for them to be effective.

Second round of peace summit

This handout photograph released by Ukrainian presidential press service on Feb. 8, 2024, shows Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) following a swap at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia on Feb. 8, 2024 said they swapped 100 prisoners of war each. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)

Zelensky said after securing plans for energy, food security, the exchange of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children, the goal is to have a “fully ready plan in November.”

A view of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on June 15, 2023. (Photo by Olga MALTSEVA / AFP)

“The first meeting, most likely, will be in Qatar. This regarding energy security, and a plan regarding energy security will be fully prepared there,” said Zelensky.

Then a meeting for free navigation and food security will be held in Turkey in August, with another meeting in Canada in September on the exchange of prisoners and the return of Ukrainian children, after which a full plan should be ready by November, where the upcoming summit would call for Russian participation.

Denys Zaporozhchenko (L) meets his children Nikita, Yana and Dayana (R) fter the bus delivering them and more than a dozen other children back from Russian-held territory arrived in Kyiv on March 22, 2023. More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes. (Photo by SERGEI CHUZAVKOV / AFP)

“After these three points, if they work, the plan for the implementation of all points will be fully ready, and I set the task that we should have a fully ready plan in November,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a video address, on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Gavriil Grigorov / SPUTNIK / AFP)

However, Russia recently said it would not participate in the second peace summit.

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