Ukrainian President requests Tomahawk missiles from Trump amid Russia conflict

The Ukrainian leader was frank, telling Trump that Ukraine has thousands of drones ready for an offensive against Russian targets, but needs American missiles.

“We don’t have Tomahawks, that’s why we need Tomahawks,” he said.

Trump responded: “We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks.”

Later, Trump reiterated that he wants the United States to hold onto its weaponry. “We want Tomahawks also. We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country,” he said.

After the talks, which Zelensky described as productive, he told reporters he did not want to talk about long-range missiles, saying the US did not want escalation.

He said he was counting on Trump to pressure Putin “to stop this war”.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the meeting was “cordial” and that “I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL!”

Back to the table

It was unclear what Putin had told Trump that prompted him to agree to the upcoming meeting. Their August summit in Alaska ended early with no major breakthrough.

The Kremlin said much needed to be decided and that the summit might take place “a little later” than within the two-week period mentioned by Trump.

Trump’s conciliatory tone after the call with Putin raised questions over the near-term likelihood of assistance to Ukraine and reignited European fears of a deal that suits Moscow. A spokesperson for the European Union said it welcomed the talks if they could help bring peace to Ukraine.

Trump was asked on Friday whether he was concerned Putin might be “playing” him for time by agreeing to talks.

“You know, I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well, so it’s possible,” Trump replied.

The president expressed affection for Zelensky, at one point praising him for sporting a dark suit jacket after he was knocked earlier this year for visiting the White House without one.

“He looks beautiful in his jacket,” Trump said. “I hope people notice … it’s actually very stylish.”

War has intensified

Trump, who has campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, is eager to add to the list of conflicts he says he has been instrumental in ending.

More than 3½ years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has made some territorial gains this year, but Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Thursday that the Russian offensive had failed.

Putin this month said his forces had taken almost 5000 square kilometres of land in Ukraine in 2025 – equivalent to adding 1 per cent of Ukraine’s territory to the nearly 20 per cent already held.

Both sides have also escalated attacks on each other’s energy systems, and Russian drones and jets have strayed into NATO countries.

Analysts see talks as delaying tactic

The White House had seemed in recent days to be increasingly frustrated with Putin and leaning towards granting Zelensky fresh support, including the Tomahawk missiles that Ukrainians say would help them inflict more damage to Russia’s war machine.

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Several US and Ukrainian officials emphasised before Trump’s meeting with Zelensky that no decision had been made, and opinions differed on how Trump would ultimately decide the matter.

Putin’s move appeared meant to make the US transfer of such weapons less likely, said Max Bergmann, a Russia expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

“It does seem that Putin’s outreach is perhaps designed to thwart the potential transfer of Tomahawks to Ukraine, so Putin is wanting to put that back in the box,” Bergmann said. “It
strikes me as sort of a stalling tactic.”

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Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian non-government organisation that is a major procurer of military equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces, said Tomahawk missiles would level a playing field that is tipped towards Russia, but that they would not be a silver bullet.

“We don’t expect Russia to crumble after one, two or three successful strikes,” Bielieskov said. “But it’s about pressure, constant pressure. It’s about disrupting the military-industrial complex.”

Reuters