Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy failed to obtain Tomahawk missiles meant to attack Russia during a meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, after which the US president called on both sides to cease fighting and accept the current front.
President Zelenskiy had traveled to Washington in hopes of receiving the long-range cruise missiles, which he believes would allow targeted attacks on oil and energy facilities deep in Russia and deal a decisive blow to the Kremlin’s war economy.
However, in his opening remarks at a working lunch at the White House, President Trump expressed a desire to resolve the war “without thinking about the Tomahawk,” adding that the weapon is a weapon the United States “needs.”
And President Zelenskiy appeared to come away empty-handed, saying the meeting was “productive” but declining to comment further on the Tomahawk because the U.S. “doesn’t want escalation.”
Hours later, President Trump publicly called on Kiev and Moscow to “immediately stop the war.”
Trump told reporters after landing in West Palm Beach, Florida: “Follow the lines, wherever you are. If you don’t, it’s too complicated. You’ll never understand it. Stop at the lines.”
“And both sides should go home, go to their families and stop the killings. That should be the end,” he added, adding that he had conveyed his thoughts to both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The meeting took place a day after President Trump spoke by phone with President Putin and agreed to meet in Hungary soon.
During the phone conversation, President Putin is said to have emphasized that the Tomahawk, which has a range of major Russian cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, would not have a significant impact on the battlefield. But he argued that it would damage U.S.-Russian relations.
The Tomahawk missile has a much longer range than other missiles in Ukraine’s current arsenal.
President Trump has softened discussions about that, but has not explicitly ruled out the possibility.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting at the White House, President Zelenskiy appeared to propose swapping U.S. Tomahawks for Ukrainian drones.
“Ukraine has thousands of production drones, but no Tomahawks,” he said.
“They (the US) can have thousands of our drones, and that’s where we can work together.”
After meeting with Trump, Zelenskiy virtually briefed European leaders on the situation. The leaders reiterated their “unwavering commitment to Ukraine in the face of continued Russian aggression.”
Speaking to reporters, the Ukrainian leader reaffirmed his confidence in President Trump, who wants to end the war, adding: “Managing the situation in the Middle East was also difficult, but the president succeeded in that.”
On Friday, President Trump did not take a position on whether Ukraine would need to cede territory as part of a peace deal with Russia.
President Trump has taken a different position on this issue.
Ahead of a meeting with Putin in August, he said a “land swap” was needed to end the war.
He later changed his mind and said he believed Ukraine could regain all the territory currently occupied by Russia.
In comments Friday, Trump acknowledged the possibility that Putin was being courted by him to buy time to achieve his war objectives in Ukraine, but concluded: “I think he wants a deal.”
“You know, I’ve been played by some of the best players and I’ve done really well,” he added.
