Trump discusses tomahawk and zelenskyy missiles but hopes to end the war without them
Washington – President Trump said on Friday that the US may accept Ukrainian drones in exchange for long tomahawk missiles that Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants for his troops in Russia. But Mr Trump has also expressed concern about reducing the number of tomohawks he already has.
“Tomahawks is a big deal,” Mr Trump told reporters during a meeting with his cabinet and Ukrainian President Voldymyy. “But one thing I have to say, we want the Tomahawks, too. We don’t want to sacrifice the things we need to protect our country.”
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get a fight without thinking about the Tomahawks. I think we’re close to that,” said Mr. Trump.
His meeting with Zelenskyy took place a day after the President had a long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin again announced That he and Putin will meet soon in Budapest.
Military aid to Ukraine is high on the agenda of Zelenskyy’s meeting with Mr. Trump. Zelenskyy suggested Ukraine could provide US drones for Ukraine to receive Tomahawk missiles. The reporter asked Mr. Trump, if it’s a trade, might be interested in it.
“Yes, yes,” the president replied. “They make a very good drone,” he told a reporter.
Zelenskyy and Mr Trump shook hands when the President of Ukraine arrived at the White House, and a reporter asked the President if he believed he could persuade Putin to end the war. “Yup,” mr. Trump responded.
In their meeting, Mr. Trump was lined up across from Zelenskyy, who wore a military-style jacket to the event. Mr Trump praised him, saying, “I think he looks good in his jacket.”
“It’s a privilege to have a very strong leader, a man who has gone through the motions,” Mr Trump said at the meeting, adding he thought he was making “a lot of progress” in ending the war.
Zelenskyy congratulated Mr. Trump at the “Successful Meeting” in the Middle East, but added that he thinks that Putin is “not ready” to end the war with Ukraine.
Mr Trump suggested it was possible that Zelenskyy could join his next meeting with Putin at Budin in Budapest, but then added that the meetings could be “separated.” A date has not yet been set for Mr Trump’s meeting with the Russian leader.
The reporter asked the President if he is worried about Putin to try to buy more time with the Budapest meeting. “Yes, I am,” said Mr. Trump. “But you know, I’ve played my whole life with all of them. And I’ve come out pretty good. So, it’s possible, yeah.”
URY Trump once said that tomowawks could be a “new step of aggression” in the Russia-Ukraine War. They could enable Ukraine to hold deeper inside Russia.
“I can say ‘look: If this war is not resolved, I will send tomowawks,'” Mr. Trump told reporters earlier this week. “We won’t do it, but we can do it.”
The last time the presidents of the US and Ukraine met in person in September, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Mr Trump and Zelenskyy spoke twice over the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, ahead of Mr Trump’s Whirlwind Middle East trip to mark Israel-Hamas Peace Agreement.
Russia has given no indication that it wants to end the war. And Ukrainian authorities said there was another Russian strike hours before Mr Trump spoke to Putin on the phone.
“Midnight Strike – Launched Hours Before the Conversation between Putin and President Trump -” Ukraine’s ambassador to the US Olga Stefanishyna said in a statement on Thursday. “While negotiations to end the war continue, Russia has once again chosen missiles over dialogue, turning this attack into a direct blow to the ongoing peace efforts led by President Trump.”
Mr Trump has in recent months expressed frustration with Putin over his failure to end the war, despite the former first lady Melania Trump He said last week that he worked with the Russian leader’s team to return Ukrainian children to their families. Mr Trump said the first lady took over the program herself.
US and Russian advisers will be meeting next week at an undisclosed location ahead of Putin’s expected summit. The President indicated that the first meetings leading up to the meeting with the Russian leader will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
