Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged US President Donald Trump to use momentum from the Gaza ceasefire last week to bring an end to Russia’s invasion, part of a trip where he’s seeking Tomahawk missiles and security guarantees.
Answering questions from reporters with Trump at the White House on Friday, Zelenskiy said a bilateral security guarantee is “the most important thing.” He was in Washington a day after Trump agreed in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet in Hungary in the coming weeks.
“President Trump has really showed for the world that he can manage ceasefire in the Middle East and that’s why I hope that he can do this and we can also have such big success,” Zelenskiy said.
While both leaders were cordial, the meeting Friday exposed a major fault line between them. Of his conversation with Putin about a possible peace deal, Trump said the Russian leader “wants to get it done.” Zelenskiy, meanwhile, said “we want peace — Putin doesn’t want” and made clear he wants advanced weapons and US support to push Russia to the negotiating table.
Trump reiterated his fresh unease over one of Zelenskiy’s key asks: access to long-range Tomahawk missiles, which are among the most advanced weapons in the American arsenal and would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deeper into Russian territory.
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America, too,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “So I don’t know what we can do about that.”
Trump entertained a proposal from Zelenskiy to trade Tomahawks for Ukrainian drones, but said he hoped it would not have to come to that.
“Hopefully they won’t need it. Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks,” Trump said.
While Trump in recent weeks had expressed growing frustration with Putin for continuing the war, the US president voiced optimism another summit may result in a breakthrough, signaling a willingness to resort to diplomacy again before taking more aggressive steps against Moscow.
Earlier: Trump Plan for a Second Putin Meeting Undercuts Ukraine Push
Nine months into Trump’s second presidency, the conflict in Ukraine has become a war of exhaustion with Russia suffering heavy losses for minimal advances on the battlefield and both sides using long-range strikes in a bid to undermine the morale of their enemies.
Zelenskiy is in Washington with a laundry-list of requests and Trump’s latest shift on Putin undercuts weeks of pressure on the Russian president and threatens to complicate Kyiv’s bid for more urgent help. Zelenskiy is seeking air defenses, long-range weaponry and new energy supplies as he prepares for winter.
Russia is intensifying its aerial bombardment on Ukraine’s cities and water and gas infrastructure. Air strikes have knocked out more than a half of Ukraine’s gas production, essential for heating during the cold months ahead, and forced Kyiv to impose power cuts and rolling blackouts.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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