Zelensky will receive the French SAMP/T system against ballistic missiles and accuses Europe of "blackmail" over Druzhba.

Ukraine will receive a new Samp/T air defense system from France this year and will test it against Russian ballistic missiles as an alternative to the American Patriot system. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "We will receive a system this year that we will test against ballistic threats," Zelensky said to a group of journalists in statements that were under embargo until today. The Ukrainian president added that this was the "most important topic" of his talks with Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday. 

Zelensky then accused his European allies of "blackmailing" Kiev by pressuring it to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline that carries Russian oil, in the context of a dispute between Ukraine and Hungary led by Viktor Orban: this was stated in a meeting with a group of journalists. "They are forcing me to restore Druzhba," Zelensky claimed, referring to the issue of a $90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine, which Budapest blocked right after supplies through this pipeline were interrupted. "I told our friends in Europe that this is called blackmail," added the Ukrainian leader, whose statements in this meeting with journalists were under embargo until this morning. Referring to the Hungarian parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12, Zelensky expressed his view on how relations with Budapest might evolve. "We will work with any leader in Hungary (...), as long as that person is not an ally of Putin," he stated, accusing outgoing Prime Minister Orban of "spreading an anti-Ukrainian sentiment" in Hungary.