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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged US President Donald Trump to use the momentum gained from last week’s Gaza ceasefire to end Russia’s offensive, part of a visit where he is seeking Tomahawk missiles and security guarantees.
Responding to reporters’ questions with Trump at the White House on Friday, Zelensky said bilateral security guarantees are “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.
Zelensky said, “President Trump has really shown the world that he can manage a ceasefire in the Middle East and so I’m hopeful that he can do that and we can have such a great success as well.”
Although the two leaders were cordial, Friday’s meeting exposed a major rift between them. Regarding his conversations with Putin about a potential peace deal, Trump said the Russian leader “wants to get it done.” Meanwhile, Zelensky said, “We want peace – Putin doesn’t” and made clear that he wants advanced weapons and US support to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
Trump reiterated his fresh uneasiness over one of Zelensky’s key demands: access to long-range Tomahawk missiles, which are among the most advanced weapons in the US arsenal and would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep 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 it.”
Trump considered Zelensky’s proposal to trade Tomahawks for Ukrainian drones, but said he hoped it would not come to that point.
“Hopefully they won’t need it. Hopefully we’ll be able to end the war without having to think about Tomahawks,” Trump said.
While Trump in recent weeks has expressed growing frustration with Putin for continuing the war, the US president expressed hope that another summit could result in a breakthrough, signaling a willingness to again resort to diplomacy before taking more aggressive steps against Moscow.
Earlier: Trump plans second meeting with Putin to ease pressure on Ukraine
Nine months into Trump’s second presidency, the conflict in Ukraine has become a war of attrition, with Russia suffering heavy losses for minimal progress on the battlefield and both sides using long-range attacks to weaken the morale of their enemies.
Zelensky is in Washington with a long list of requests and Trump’s latest turn on Putin caps weeks of pressure on the Russian president and threatens to complicate Kiev’s bid for more immediate help. Zelensky is calling for air defenses, long-range weapons and new energy supplies to prepare for winter.
Russia is intensifying aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities and water and gas infrastructure. The airstrikes have destroyed more than half of Ukraine’s gas production, which is essential for heating during the coming cold months, and forced Kiev to impose power cuts and blackouts.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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