Use of Tomahawk missiles in Russia war unclear

President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have walked away empty-handed from a meeting at the White House after US President Donald Trump indicated he was not prepared to supply Ukraine with coveted Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Zelensky said after the cordial bilateral meeting that he and Trump had talked about long-range missiles, but decided not to make statements on the issue “because the United States does not want escalation.”

After the meeting, Trump took to social media to call on kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end the war.

The Trump-Zelensky meeting came a day after Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet with him soon in Hungary.

Zelensky believes that using Tomahawks to strike Russian oil and energy facilities would seriously weaken Putin’s war economy.

Although Trump did not rule it out, his tone at the White House on Friday was evasive.

“I hope they don’t need them, I hope we can end the war without thinking about the Tomahawks,” the US president said, adding that America needs these weapons.

Trump said sending missiles would be “an escalation, but we’ll talk about it.”

Asked by the BBC whether the Tomahawks had encouraged Putin to meet with Trump, the US president replied: “The threat of such a meeting [the missiles] That’s good, but the threat is still there.”

The Ukrainian leader suggested his country could offer drones in exchange for the Tomahawks, drawing smiles and nods from Trump.

Zelensky also praised Trump for his role in securing the first phase of a Middle East peace deal, suggesting the U.S. leader could build on that momentum to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

A reporter then asked Zelensky if he thought Putin wanted a deal or if he just wanted to buy time with the planned meeting with Trump in Budapest.

“I don’t know,” he said, adding that the prospect of Ukraine having Tomahawks had made Russia “scared” because they are a powerful weapon.

Asked if he was leaving Washington more optimistic about Ukraine getting the Tomahawks, he said, “I’m realistic.”

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the call with European leaders was “productive” and promised that “the UK will continue to send humanitarian aid and military support.”

In recent days, Trump has been open to the idea of ​​selling the Tomahawks, even though Putin has warned that such a move would further strain U.S.-Russian relations.

On Thursday, Trump said “great progress” had been made in a phone call with Putin, with the two men agreeing to have face-to-face talks in Hungary soon.

Asked if Zelensky would be involved in those talks, Trump said before his meeting alongside the Ukrainian president that there was “cool blood” between Putin and Zelensky.

“We want everyone to be comfortable,” he said. “We will be involved in threes, but it could be separated.” He added that the three leaders “need to come together.”

Trump said his call, the first with Putin since mid-August, was “very productive,” adding that teams from Washington and Moscow would meet next week.

Trump had hoped that a face-to-face summit in Alaska in August would help convince Putin to begin comprehensive peace negotiations to end the war, but that meeting failed to produce a breakthrough.

They spoke again a few days later when Trump interrupted a meeting with Zelensky and European leaders to call Putin.

Back in Ukraine, the BBC spoke on Friday to a couple repairing the small shop they own in a kyiv suburb after it was destroyed by Russian missiles last month.

When store owner Volodymyr was asked about the upcoming summit between Trump and Putin, he began to respond: “We appreciate any support.”

But he walked away as tears welled up in his eyes. After a long pause, he pulled himself together and started again.

“Truth and democracy will win, and all terrorism and evil will disappear,” he said. “We just want to live, we don’t want to give up, we just want them to leave us alone.”