Trump Cools Expectations On Missile Aid to Ukraine After Zelensky Meeting

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump prioritized peace talks over supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, telling Vladimir Zelensky the US may need them for future conflicts.

While Trump did not rule out providing the long-range missiles Zelensky seeks, Trump appeared cool to the prospect as he looked ahead to a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks.

After speaking with Zelensky for more than two hours, Trump implored both Ukraine and Russia to “stop the war immediately”, even if it means Ukraine conceding territory.

“You stop at the battle line, and both sides should go home, go to their families,” Trump told reporters on his way to his home in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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 on to its weaponry. “We want Tomahawks, also. We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country,” he said.

Trump’s doubtful tone on the cruise missiles follows a surprise phone call with Vladimir Putin on Friday during which the Russian leader told Trump that supplying the Tomahawks would damage US-Russian relations.

His position on supplying Ukraine with weapons has changed a number of times since he returned to office in January, often after negotiations with Putin or European backers of Ukraine.

During the White House meeting with Zelensky, Trump also discussed plans to hold a bilateral meeting with Putin in Hungary, saying it was “to be determined” whether Zelensky would join but that he would inform him of the discussions.

“There is a lot of bad blood,” Trump said.

After the talks on Friday, the US president issued a stern call to both sides on social media to “stop the killing, and make a DEAL!”.

“They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Zelensky told reporters he did not want to talk about long-range missiles, saying the US did not want escalation, and he was “realistic” about his chance of getting them.

The Ukrainian president, who spoke by phone with European leaders after the meeting, said he was counting on Trump to pressure Putin “to stop this war”.

The Kremlin’s top aide, Yuri Ushakov, earlier said Putin had initiated Thursday’s conversation with Trump, during which the Russian leader urged his US counterpart not to supply Ukraine with the Tomahawks.

“I did actually say: ‘Would you mind if I gave a couple of thousand Tomahawks to your opposition?’ I did say that to him. I said it just that way,” Trump said, recounting the conversation.

Ushakov told reporters in Moscow that Putin warned Trump during the call that supplying Kievwith Tomahawks “won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries”.

It was the eighth known call between the two men since Trump began his second term in January, and followed a familiar pattern in the complex and often confusing contest between Putin and Zelensky for Trump’s ear.

A flurry of activity was also set off with Trump’s announcement after the call that he was planning to meet the Russian president in the Hungarian capital on a date still to be determined, in an effort to end the war.

Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, on Friday morning said that the summit could take place “within two weeks or later”.

Peskov said Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban had discussed the planned summit, which Orban also raised with Trump, noting on X: “Preparations for the USA-Russia peace summit are under way.”

Putin’s travel to Hungary remains uncertain due to EU sanctions, airspace restrictions, and an international criminal court [ICC] arrest warrant — which Hungary, as a signatory, is obliged to enforce, though Orban has said he would not.

When asked about the logistical challenges, Peskov said the route was “so far, of course, unclear”.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto said on Friday Putin can enter and leave freely, adding Hungary will host him “with respect” as a sovereign nation.

Trump and Putin last met in Alaska in August without a breakthrough. He said new talks, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would take place next week ahead of a summit in Budapest.

The two-and-a-half-hour talk seems to have stalled Zelensky’s momentum, with Trump now unlikely to back Ukraine before his meeting with Putin.

“Zelensky must be pulling his hair out. Today’s meeting with Trump is now completely overshadowed and overtaken by the Budapest meeting,” said John Foreman, a former British defence attach to Moscow and Kiev.

Trump suggested Putin-Zelensky talks may need to be indirect, contradicting Zelensky’s push for a face-to-face meeting.

Zelensky hasn’t commented on the Putin-Trump call, which is unlikely to be welcomed in Kiev.

Some Ukrainian officials, including FM Andrii Sybiha, said the Trump-Putin call showed Putin fears new Western arms and urged continued pressure to build momentum for peace.

Though Moscow claims it's ready for peace, Putin shows no sign of compromising or abandoning his goal of Kiev's capitulation.

Despite Trump’s optimism, US VP JD Vance warned that Russia and Ukraine aren’t ready to make a deal, saying a settlement “remains possible but will require a lot more work.”

In the conservative network Newsmax, Vance cited a “misalignment of expectations,” saying Russia overestimates its battlefield success.