Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised Prime Minister Chris Hipkins after the pair briefly met at NATO.
The pair came face to face for the first time overnight - but not as originally planned.
Thanks to US President Joe Biden's bilateral with the Ukrainian leader running over time, the PM's original meeting was canned, only to run into each other in a corridor at the NATO summit.
Their encounter didn't last long as the PM had to catch his next flight but not before pledging further support packages for Ukraine, totalling more than $4.5 million.
Zelensky later shared a message to Twitter thanking Hipkins for his support.
"I met with Mr. Christopher Hipkins, Prime Minister of New Zealand.
"Thank you for your consistent, principled and value-driven support.
"It is very important that despite the geographical distance, we are extremely close in our understanding of freedom."
Hipkins told media afterwards he "was able to restate New Zealand's firm support for Ukraine".
"I know that that support is warmly acknowledged and appreciated by Ukraine."
The encounter comes after a mixed two days for Ukraine, locking in a new security pact with the G7 nations but no solid timeline on NATO membership.
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