Ukrainian, U.S. presidents discuss defense issues over phone

KIEV, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed defense issues in a phone call, Zelensky's press service reported Wednesday.

During the conversation, Zelensky expressed gratitude to the United States for the new defense package worth 425 million U.S. dollars, which includes additional air defense systems and long-range weapons.

He urged the United States to speed up the delivery of more air defense systems to Ukraine and to enhance cooperation in weapon production.

Zelensky and Biden also focused on strengthening bilateral defense collaboration in the coming months.