For Yuliia Dysa and Steve Holland in the Gram Slattery
KIEV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday, where the two will discuss Ukraine’s air defense and long-range strike capabilities.
The two leaders spoke on Saturday and Sunday amid intensifying discussions over the possible supply of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kiev, and a high-level Ukrainian delegation led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is expected to go to Washington ahead of Friday’s meeting.
Kiev has been lobbying Washington to supply US-made Tomahawk missiles, which have the ability to hit Moscow but which the Ukrainians say would only be used on military targets. Moscow has said such a move would represent a serious escalation.
Zelensky said he gave , who has shown increasing frustration with Russia in recent weeks, an idea of how many of the coveted Tomahawks Ukraine needs.
“Frankly, I have already shared our vision with Trump… but some of these things are not for a telephone conversation, so we will meet,” he told reporters in Kiev.
Trump has said he is considering sending Tomahawks to , although he also said he might talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the issue.
Ukraine and the US are also moving closer to a landmark drone deal, in which Ukraine would share drone technology with the United States. European diplomats see this agreement as an important tool to keep the US president engaged and supportive of Ukraine.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fourth year, have stalled as Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and made gradual gains on the battlefield.
Zelensky said he will also meet with representatives of U.S. energy companies to discuss Ukraine’s current needs amid what he described as a shift in Russian tactics in attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Recently, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian gas production and the country’s electrical grid, and Zelensky added that Kiev could soon be forced to start importing electricity.
Ukraine has also carried out attacks on Russian oil refineries, causing gasoline shortages.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and Gram Slattery in Washington, Tom Balmforth in London and Yuliia Dysa in Kiev)
