WASHINGTON: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived at the White House on Friday seeking new U.S. weapons to bolster his country’s defenses against Russia, but found a more cautious President Donald Trump, who appeared focused on brokering peace rather than expanding Kyiv’s arsenal.
While Trump did not explicitly reject Ukraine’s request for Tomahawk cruise missiles, his measured tone suggested reluctance to deepen U.S. military engagement just weeks before his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
The dual-track diplomacy courting both Kyiv and Moscow underscored Trump’s trademark balancing act between allies and adversaries. The White House framed the discussions as “productive,” but the contrast between Zelenskiy’s urgency and Trump’s restraint was evident.
“I think President Zelenskiy wants it done, and I think President Putin wants it done,” Trump said. “Now all they have to do is get along a little bit.”
Zelenskiy responded bluntly: “We want this. Putin doesn’t want it.” The Ukrainian leader reminded Trump that Kyiv’s forces have “thousands of drones ready” but lack the long-range missiles to strike deeper Russian targets.
Trump, however, reiterated his preference for holding onto U.S. weapons. “We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks,” he said. “We want Tomahawks also. We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.”
Despite the polite tone, the meeting left questions about future U.S. support. Trump later posted on Truth Social that the exchange was “cordial,” adding: “I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL!”
Between Putin and Pressure
The next Trump–Putin meeting, tentatively slated for Budapest, could define the next phase of the war. The Kremlin confirmed discussions were ongoing but suggested the summit might occur “a little later” than Trump’s two-week timeline.
European diplomats voiced renewed anxiety over Trump’s conciliatory tone toward Putin. A European Union spokesperson cautiously welcomed the talks “if they can help bring peace,” but several officials privately warned of a potential “deal that suits Moscow.”
Asked whether Putin might be “playing” him for time, Trump shrugged: “I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well So it’s possible.”
He also offered a lighter aside, praising Zelenskiy’s attire after earlier criticism of his military-style outfits. “He looks beautiful in his jacket,” Trump joked. “I hope people notice, it’s actually very stylish.”
War Still Rages
On the battlefield, Russia’s offensive has continued to grind forward. Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Thursday that Moscow’s forces had failed to achieve major breakthroughs, despite President Putin’s claim of seizing 5,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year about 1% of the country.
Both sides have intensified strikes on energy infrastructure, with Russian drones occasionally straying into NATO airspace, raising fears of wider escalation.
Analysts See a Strategic Stall
Experts say Putin’s outreach may be timed to stall U.S. arms transfers. “It does seem that Putin’s outreach is designed to thwart the potential transfer of Tomahawks to Ukraine,” said Max Bergmann, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It strikes me as a stalling tactic.”
Ukrainian analysts echoed that sentiment. Mykola Bielieskov, of the NGO Come Back Alive, said Tomahawk missiles could “level the playing field” but would not end the war overnight. “It’s about constant pressure disrupting Russia’s military-industrial complex,” he said.
As Trump positions himself as a peacemaker while withholding weapons, Kyiv’s challenge remains the same: how to keep fighting a war that shows no sign of ending soon.
— Gram Slattery and Jeff Mason
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