WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, signaling hesitation over Kyiv’s request for a long-range missile system the country says it urgently needs.
Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump comes just a day after the U.S. president held a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict.
In recent days, Trump signaled openness to selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, despite warnings from Putin that the move could further strain U.S.-Russia relations.
But after Thursday’s call with Putin, Trump appeared to downplay Ukraine’s chances of receiving the missiles, which can reach up to 995 miles (1,600 kilometers).
President Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Monday, August 18, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
Tensions over missile deal
“We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,” Trump said. “We have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean we can’t deplete our country.”
Zelenskyy has been pushing for weapons that would let Ukrainian forces strike deep into Russian territory, targeting military sites, energy facilities, and key infrastructure.
He argues such strikes could pressure Putin to take Trump’s calls for direct negotiations more seriously.
But during the call, Putin warned Trump that sending Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv “won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries,” according to Yuri Ushakov, his foreign policy adviser.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the discussion around supplying Tomahawk missiles had already helped push Putin toward talks.
“The conclusion is that we need to continue with strong steps. Strength can truly create momentum for peace,” Sybiha wrote on X late Thursday.
READ MORE: The relationship between President Trump and Ukraine President Zelenskyy
President Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Monday, August 18, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
It marks the fourth in-person meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy since the Republican returned to office in January, and their second in less than a month.
Following Thursday’s call with Putin, Trump announced plans to meet the Russian leader soon in Budapest to discuss ending the war.
Both sides also agreed their senior aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will meet next week at an undisclosed location.
Fresh off brokering a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, Trump says ending the war in Ukraine is now his top foreign policy priority, and he’s newly confident about the chances of making it happen.
Before his call with Putin, Trump had shown growing frustration with the Russian leader.
READ MORE: Trump and Zelensky’s White House meeting expected to ‘stay on the rails’ this time, experts say
Push for peace talks
Last month, Trump said he believes Ukraine can reclaim all territory lost to Russia, a sharp shift from his earlier calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.
Since his 2024 campaign, Trump has vowed to end the war quickly, but his peace push appeared to stall after a flurry of diplomacy in August, including a summit with Putin in Alaska and a White House meeting with Zelenskyy and European allies.
Trump left those meetings confident he was paving the way for direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin.
But the Russian leader has shown no interest in meeting and Moscow has only stepped up its bombardment of Ukraine.
Trump, for his part, struck a more neutral tone on Ukraine after what he called a “very productive” call with Putin.
He also suggested that talks between Putin and Zelenskyy may need to be conducted indirectly.
“They don’t get along too well those two,” Trump said. “So we may do something where we’re separate. Separate but equal.”
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President Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, during the 2025 NATO Summit at the World Forum in The Hague, Netherlands. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press.