The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has expressed his hope that the war in Ukraine can end without having to send to that country the long-range Tomahawk missiles requested by kyiv, during a meeting at the White House with the leader of that country, Volodymyr Zelensky.
For his part, the Ukrainian president has proposed to his American counterpart a collaboration agreement to provide Washington with Ukrainian drones in exchange for American Tomahawks with which to attack Russian targets. The American has been open to the possibility: “I would be interested,” he confirmed. But he also immediately pointed out that “what we want is to end this war.”
The Republican, who takes credit for the ceasefire and the hostage exchange agreement in Gaza, says he wants to take advantage of the momentum received in the Middle East to . “Things are progressing quite well… we want to see if we can get it done,” the American declared at the beginning of the bilateral meeting in the Cabinet room of the White House. “It is a very important moment,” confirmed the Ukrainian.
“We need two things for peace. First, sit down and talk (with Putin). And we need a ceasefire. Now we are going to explain to President Trump what we need to pressure Putin to come to the negotiating table,” Zelensky declared. “For Ukraine, this is a great opportunity, and I hope we can take advantage of it.”
In an indication of the good harmony that now exists between the two leaders – a big difference compared to their first meeting in the Oval Office in February, when Trump very publicly scolded Zelensky – the Republican praised his guest’s dark suit before the press. “Very elegant, I like it,” he joked.
Neither of the two had commented to the press when greeting each other upon Zelensky’s arrival at the West Wing of the presidential residence. After their meeting, the Ukrainian plans to hold a press conference at the official residence for presidential guests, Blair House.
The meeting comes after Trump spoke by phone on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he agreed to meet in Budapest. It will be their second face-to-face meeting, after their summit in Anchorage (Alaska) on August 15. According to the American it will take place “in a couple of weeks.” The Kremlin has been much more cautious and has warned that it may be delayed beyond that deadline, as there are still many details to be resolved.
Asked why he was meeting in the Hungarian capital, Trump declared: “because it has a leader we like, Viktor Orban. (Putin) likes it. I like it. It is a safe country that has done a good job.”
Trump and Zelensky were scheduled to discuss, among other things, kyiv’s desire to receive long-range Tomahawk missiles, capable of attacking distant targets on Russian soil.
According to kyiv, the Tomahawks could be key to attacking Russian territory: with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers they could hit oil facilities or weapons factories very far from the border. They would be much more effective than the missiles it launches until now, with a maximum range of 250 kilometers. And although on their own they would not give a definitive turn to the war, they would serve as a signal to the Kremlin that Washington is once again resolutely on the Ukrainian side.
Trump had noted that he was considering it in the event that Russia did not return to the negotiating table. But after the conversation with Putin, he seemed to be more skeptical about that possibility. “We also need our Tomahawks, we cannot empty our reserves,” he declared at an event in the Oval Office.
Putin has warned that sending these missiles to Ukraine would represent “a new phase in the escalation, which would even affect relations between Russia and the United States.”
In addition to the Tomahawks, the White House tenant and Zelensky could talk about other types of weapons. Last month, the Ukrainian had proposed a “mega-agreement” for his country to receive nearly 90 billion dollars (about 77 billion euros) in American weapons. A delegation from kyiv, led by presidential advisor Andrii Yermak, has been in Washington since the beginning of the week to meet with executives from some of the main American defense corporations, such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
The meeting, in the Cabinet Room in the West Wing, will take place in a very different atmosphere from the first between the two in Trump’s second term, when the president and his number two, JD Vance, attacked the Ukrainian in a very public way in the Oval Office.
This 180-degree turn in his positions, unthinkable when he reproached the Ukrainian for “not having the cards” to win the war, has had several factors. Among them, European pressure.
But above all, frustration at Putin’s refusal to commit to a ceasefire. And disappointment about Russia’s military capabilities. The American, who months ago considered Russia’s victory in the conflict inevitable due to its much larger size, population and resources, has seen the invading forces’ summer offensive fail. He has also criticized Moscow’s serious economic problems.
But even frustrated by Putin, Trump has always avoided imposing the sanctions against Russia that he has threatened on several occasions. His Administration has imposed secondary tariffs of 25% against India as punishment for its purchase of Russian energy, but has not wanted to apply them against China, Moscow’s main client and great partner.
In his statements after his conversation with the Russian, Trump did not specify whether he plans to threaten the Kremlin again with punitive measures if it does not sit at the negotiating tables.
