On Friday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House and revealed a need for Tomahawk missiles.
Trump–Zelensky Meeting
After 19:00 Polish time on Friday, President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Both leaders gave formal greetings and thanked each other for the ministerial teams accompanying them. Zelensky congratulated Trump on “success in achieving peace in Gaza” and said he believes that under Trump’s leadership the war started by Russia against Ukraine will end. The two presidents answered reporters’ questions, including one about U.S. delivery of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. The guest of the day was told that “that is the problem” and that the U.S. needs Tomahawks along with many other supplies shipped in the past four years. Trump said the difficulty of handing over a large stockpile of powerful weapons is a reason for ending the war and hoped that Ukraine would not need them, suggesting an end to the war without Tomahawks. He added that the end of the war is “already close”.
Zelensky: We Have a Proposal
Zelensky noted that Ukraine has thousands of domestically produced drones but lacks Tomahawk missiles. He said the country needs them and that they have a proposal based on extensive drone experience. Trump expressed interest in Ukrainian drones, calling them “good” and added that the United States has many unmanned aircraft. Concerning Tomahawks, Trump cautioned that giving Ukraine such weapons could spark an escalation with Russia, describing them as “very powerful” and “dangerous,” and warned that it could lead to “a new major escalation” and many “bad things.” He summed up that Tomahawks are a serious matter.
Talks in Washington
Trump declared that the Russia‑Ukraine war should end, but did not state whether he would back Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory. He said that the main obstacle to peace is poor relations between Zelensky and Putin, describing a mutual hatred that must be overcome. Trump said “we need to get rid of the part of hatred between them. They do not like each other,” and stressed that the same applies to Russia, adding that Putin “seems to want peace.”
