Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday to make his case for the acquisition of long-range Tomahawk missiles for the Ukrainian military, which would mark a significant escalation in the conflict with Russia.
Zelensky’s meeting comes after Trump held a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, in which the Russian leader raised objections to Ukraine getting the Tomahawks, Trump said.
Why It Matters
Zelensky is seeking Tomahawks so Ukrainian forces can strike targets deep inside Russia, such as energy infrastructure, military bases and weapons factories. With a range of an estimated 1,550 miles, Tomahawks would also put Moscow in range of Kyiv’s forces and, Zelensky hopes, apply more pressure on Putin to make peace two-and-a-half years after Russia’s invasion.
Russian officials, including former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, have warned that Ukraine’s acquisition of Tomahawks would “end badly for everyone” and destroy relations between Washington and Moscow.
What To Know
Trump, increasingly frustrated with a lack of progress in his effort to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, said last week he had given Putin an ultimatum to either hold serious peace talks with Ukraine or the U.S. president would consider giving Kyiv the missiles.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday after his telephone call with Putin, Trump suggested that the U.S. would be reluctant to supply the missiles to Ukraine and run down its own stocks of the missiles.
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too. We have a lot of them but we need them. We can’t deplete for our country. They’re very vital,” Trump said.
Trump said he had even asked Putin if the U.S. could supply the missiles to Ukraine.
“I did actually say: ‘Would you mind if I gave a couple of thousand Tomahawks to your opposition?’ I did say that to him… He didn’t like the idea,” Trump said, adding: “You have to be a little bit light-hearted sometimes.”
Trump also announced on Thursday that he would hold a meeting with Putin in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, soon, although no date has been set.
Zelensky said on Friday he had met with representatives of the Raytheon defense company, which makes both the Patriot missile system and Tomahawks.
“I told them about the battlefield situation and Russia’s intensified attacks on our people and civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
He said he also met representatives of Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-16 fighter jet, to discuss “opportunities to enhance Ukraine’s protection from Russian aggression.”
What People Are Saying
Volodymyr Zelensky, arguing that the Gaza ceasefire created “momentum” to end the war in Ukraine, said in a social media post on October 14: “The war in Europe can also be brought to an end, and for that, the leadership of both the United States and other partners is of utmost importance.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media in remarks published on October 12: “The topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern. Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides.”
Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday: “President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.”
What Happens Next
Zelensky is due to meet Trump at the White House later on Friday.
