Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday proposed the swap of Ukrainian drones for American Tomahawk missiles, yet President Trump signaled he’s not ready to commit to providing Kyiv with the long-range weapons it says it needs.
The two leaders met at the White House for the third time since Mr. Trump took office for the second time as they anticipate the momentum of the Israel–Hamas conflict’s end will lead them to the finish line of the Russia–Ukraine war.
Mr. Zelenskyy made his case that Ukraine needs the Tomahawks because it has its own drones and is ready to offer the U.S. a trade deal.
“Ukraine has … thousands of our production drones, but we don’t have Tomahawks. That’s why we need Tomahawks,” he said in the Cabinet room surrounded by officials from the U.S. and Ukraine. “But the United States … has Tomahawks and other missiles, but they can have our thousands of drones. That’s where we can work together.”
When asked if the U.S. would be open to such a trade, Mr. Trump said, “We are.”
But he added, “We want Tomahawks also. We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.”
He said drone warfare has “really come to the fore” in the past few years as the European war rages.
“We build our own drones, but we also buy drones from others. And they make a very good drone,” he said of Ukraine.
Kyiv has argued it needs the long-range missiles to attack farther into Russia, targeting key infrastructure, like Moscow has done to Ukraine.
Russia has warned that any Tomahawks given would erode the U.S.-Russian relationship.
The president called it a “very interesting and cordial” meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy.
“But I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL!” he wrote. “Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts. They should stop where they are.”
“Let both claim Victory, let History decide! No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent,” he said. “This is a War that would have never started if I were President. Thousands of people being slaughtered each and every week — NO MORE, GO HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES IN PEACE!”
Mr. Zelenskyy agreed with Mr. Trump, and told reporters after the meeting that, “The president is right. We have to stop where we are.”
He said that he and Mr. Trump decided not to speak about the Tomahawk missiles “because the United States doesn’t want escalation.”
Mr. Zelenskyy arrived in Washington on Thursday and met with the executives of American energy companies, representatives from defense companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Mr. Trump said the potential of the U.S. providing Tomahawks to Ukraine may be what’s bringing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
The two had a lengthy phone call on Thursday that Mr. Trump said was productive, setting up a meeting soon with Mr. Putin in Budapest, Hungary.
Mr. Trump said they chose Hungary because of his good relationship with its prime minister, Viktor Orban.
Mr. Trump said of Mr. Putin, “I don’t know what’s bringing him to — I think he wants to make a deal, that’s all. I can’t tell you what’s bringing him. Sure, the threat of that is good, but the threat of that is always there.”
Mr. Trump said the U.S. carries “a lot of momentum, a lot of credibility” from the peace deal in the Middle East, and that may affect discussions surrounding an end to the current war.
“Nobody thought it could be done. That was one nobody thought could be done,” he said of the Gaza deal. “And we got it done.”
He said the situation between Israel and Hamas was “far more complicated” than the one between Russia and Ukraine.
“This should be one that we get done, and I think the table is set properly here now, too, and it would be a great honor,” Mr. Trump said.
He said all Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy “have to do is get along a little bit.”
He said it’s “to be determined” if the Ukrainian leader would be involved in the meeting in Budapest, but that it will probably be a “double meeting.”
When asked if he was concerned that Mr. Putin might be playing him, he acknowledged that he was.
“But, I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out pretty well,” Mr. Trump said.
