On Friday evening, President Trump hosted Ukrainian President Zelenski at the White House, pledging support but insisting the U.S. still needs Tomahawk missiles to help end the Russia‑Ukraine war.
Trump‑Zelenski Meeting
On Friday after 7:00 pm Polish time, President Trump welcomed President Zelenski at the White House. Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenski, together with their delegations, delivered official greetings during the first part of the meeting.
The Ukrainian President congratulated the American leader on success in establishing peace in the Gaza Strip. He emphasized that he believes the war started by Russia against Ukraine will end thanks to Trump.
The presidents also answered journalists’ questions. The subject of Tomahawk long‑range missiles surfaced. A FOX News journalist asked what would happen if the U.S. sold Tomahawks to Ukraine and later needed them.
Trump replied this is a problem. “We need Tomahawks. And we need many other things that we have been sending Ukraine over the past four years,” he said. “One of the reasons we want to end this war is precisely that it is not easy for us to hand you a huge quantity of powerful weapons, so this is one of the topics we will discuss. Let us hope you do not need them. Let us hope we can end the war without Tomahawks,” he answered. He assessed that “the end of the war is already close.”
Zelenski: We Have a Proposal
Zelenski also spoke about American missiles. “Ukraine has thousands of drones that we produce, but we do not have Tomahawks. That is why we need Tomahawks. We have a proposal. We have great experience with our drones,” the Ukrainian President said.
Trump said he would be “interested” in Ukrainian drones, rating them as good. He added that the United States has many unmanned aircraft. Regarding Tomahawks, Trump feared handing rockets to Ukraine, also due to possible escalation with Russia. “They are very powerful weapons, very dangerous. And it might mean new incidents, great escalation. It could mean that many bad things will happen. Tomahawks are a serious matter,” he summed up.
Talks in Washington
Trump declared that the Russia‑Ukraine war should end. He did not specify whether he would support Ukrainian attacks on deep Russian targets. The U.S. President said the barrier to peace is the poor relationship between Zelensky and Putin.
“We must eliminate some of the hatred between them. They do not like each other. I say this to President Zelensky, and also to Putin. There is much hatred between them,” Trump said. The U.S. President expressed belief that Putin wants peace.
