KIVY / OSLO / THE HAGUE / MOSCOW - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he held a "productive" phone conversation with US President Donald Trump over putting an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "It is truly a must to stop the killing as soon as possible, and we fully support this," Zelensky said in a post on X.

According to him, the discussions also touched on sanctions against Russia, Ukraine's cooperation with NATO member states, and bilateral defense cooperation between Ukraine and the United States.

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Zelensky noted that Ukraine has already prepared a draft agreement on drone cooperation with the United States.

Nordic aid for Ukraine

Norway, Sweden and Denmark have unveiled a joint military support package for Ukraine, aimed at securing urgently needed US-made defense equipment through an initiative coordinated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Norwegian government announced on Tuesday.

The three Nordic countries will jointly finance one of the first aid packages under the new US initiative known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), which is designed to expedite the delivery of critical military supplies to Ukraine.

Under the plan, Ukraine will receive American-made air defense systems, including additional missiles for the Patriot system.

Norway will initially contribute 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($146 million), while the combined value of the joint package with Sweden and Denmark is estimated at around 5 billion kroner.

Netherlands to offer 500m euros

The Netherlands will finance a 500 million euros (about $578 million) military aid package for Ukraine under a new NATO initiative, including air defense systems, the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced Monday.

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The grant marks the first NATO member's contribution to the new US-led initiative -- Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) -- a program through which NATO allies fund military assistance for Ukraine drawn directly from the US weapon stockpiles.

Under the PURL framework, the US releases aid packages, each valued at approximately 500 million euros (around $578 million) and "containing air defense systems, ammunition and other essential military supplies, tailored to Ukraine's most urgent needs," the ministry said in a statement.

The program is designed to complement, not replace, existing military aid programs for Ukraine, the ministry said, adding that "the key difference is that NATO allies fund the packages, after which the equipment is shipped to Ukraine via newly established logistics hubs."

The PURL initiative was officially launched on July 14 by US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Russia arrests suspect in assassination

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday that it had foiled an assassination attempt targeting the head of a defense industry enterprise in Belgorod.

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According to the FSB, a Russian citizen was acting under the instructions of a pro-Ukrainian terrorist organization communicated via social media.

The individual "traveled to the Bryansk Region to retrieve a drone drop containing firearms and explosives, weapons planned for use in killing the general director of a defense industry enterprise in Belgorod."

The suspect was apprehended while attempting to carry out the plot. During an interrogation, he confessed to assisting the Ukrainian armed forces by coordinating missile and artillery strikes on Russian troop positions.

He also admitted to being assigned the task of assassinating both the defense enterprise chief and the head of a Russian military-civilian administration in exchange for a monetary reward, the FSB said.

An investigation is underway, and authorities have filed a criminal case regarding the matter.