Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Friday evening with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House for the third time this year, amid renewed efforts to reach a settlement with Russia after more than three and a half years of war.
A day after Trump’s lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said his main goal in visiting Washington was to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. Following the meeting, Ukrainian media reported that Zelensky held a conference call with European leaders.
Zelensky arrives at the White House
(Video: Reuters)
During his conversation with Trump at the White House, Zelensky emphasized that Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities, civilian infrastructure and hospitals daily. He asked Trump to help provide American Tomahawk missiles—long-range, high-precision cruise missiles capable of striking deep inside Russia. Zelensky’s apparent aim is to disrupt Russia’s oil industry, which finances Putin’s war.
Trump responded hesitantly. “We need Tomahawks, and we’re not rushing to give away what we need,” he said. “These are things we’ve already sent to Ukraine over the past four years. We can’t give up what we need to defend our own country. We have the strongest military in the world, the strongest weapons—but I want this war to end.”
Putin has previously opposed transferring the missiles to Ukraine, and the Kremlin warned that their use would mark “a new level of escalation” in relations with the United States. Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said the Russian leader “reiterated that Tomahawk missiles will not change the situation on the battlefield but will severely damage bilateral relations and the prospects for a peace settlement.”
Zelensky, for his part, told Trump he is “sure we will stop the war with your help.” He said, “Russia has no successes on the battlefield. They’re suffering enormous losses, both economic and human. This is an important moment, and I believe we can end it, even though Putin doesn’t want that.”
After his two-and-a-half-hour phone call with Putin, Trump announced that another meeting between them is planned, this time in Hungary, in an attempt to create an indirect diplomatic path to ending the war.
The U.S. president once again boasted that he had “solved eight wars,” adding, “Ukraine is the ninth. No president has ever ended a war. They just start them—and especially ones that have nothing to do with us. But they still haven’t given me the Nobel Prize.” After brokering the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Trump said he has “great momentum and credibility. Nobody thought it was possible, but we did it. Fifty-nine nations of all kinds agreed—Muslim, Jewish, and Christian.”
Trump admitted he fears Putin may be deceiving him and “trying to buy time.” Still, he added, “I’m good at this, and I think he wants a deal. He was supposed to win this war in a week, but luck, weather, and the stupidity of some generals changed that. When the tanks got stuck in the mud, I gave them the Javelins. I did, not Obama. Obama gave them blankets.” Zelensky, mindful of the “ambush” during his first meeting with Trump and his vice president, praised the U.S. president this time. “You showed the world you can manage a ceasefire in the Middle East,” he said. “I hope you can do the same for Ukraine. It’s a great opportunity. I believe you can succeed.” Trump, in return, complimented Zelensky on his “very stylish blazer.”
First published: 02:49, 10.18.25