A profile of Russia's A7, a payment network that helps Russia bypass Western sanctions, handling ~20% of payments in Russian foreign trade, or $100B+ annually (Alexander Osipovich/Wall Street Journal)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the EU for the 21 rounds of sanctions against Russia, but emphasized that this is not sufficient. In a joint press conference in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Zelenskyy highlighted the urgent need for Ukraine to defend itself against ballistic missiles.

He noted that thousands of components for Russian ballistic missiles are being supplied to them from various countries, including close partners, and these missiles are then fired at Ukrainians, including children. Zelenskyy stressed that imposing sanctions on weapons and the supply of these components should be the top priority.

He pointed out that during the war, Russia spends hundreds of billions on it, and urged the need to prevent this. Zelenskyy also discussed bureaucracy issues, mentioning his plea to President Biden for licenses to the Patriot system in the war's first year, and his discussions with European partners about granting licenses due to limited production capacity and unresolved issues.

He expressed optimism that, with the agreement reached with President Trump, the licenses will be granted, but lamented that it's now a matter of bureaucratic delays rather than the timely manufacturing of Patriots for defense. Zelenskyy firmly believes that if such systems had been available four years ago, Europe would already be equipped, but the current situation involves resolving paperwork issues.