Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
The U.S. and Ukrainian leaders held their sixth meeting since Trump’s return to office in January, speaking in a closed-door session at the White House for over two hours.The leaders discussed providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine but have agreed not to comment on those talks publicly, Zelensky said. Trump said he hoped to end the war without Tomahawks but was potentially open to a deal with Kyiv involving the exchange of missiles for Ukrainian drones.Zelensky called the conversation “productive” and said the top priority was securing a ceasefire. He said he was “realistic” about Ukraine’s chances of getting Tomahawks.Trump said both Russia and Ukraine should end the war “right now at the battle line.”Trump plans to meet Vladimir Putin in Budapest for bilateral talks. He said he will be “in touch” with Zelensky, who will not participate directly.
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on Oct. 17 for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, amid growing speculation that Washington could authorize the delivery of Tomahawk long-range missiles to Ukraine.
The two leaders fielded questions from reporters during a bilateral lunch before holding closed-door talks for over two hours.
Before meeting with Zelensky privately, Trump said he hoped Tomahawk missiles won’t be needed in peace efforts — though he did not rule out supplying the long-range weapons to Ukraine.
“You know, we need Tomahawks and we need a lot of other weapons that we’re sending to Ukraine… Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks,” he said.
Zelensky announced in a briefing after the meeting that he and Trump discussed the provision of long-range weapons, but agreed not to comment publicly on the matter at this time. He said securing a ceasefire was the top priority and that Ukraine is counting on Trump’s “pressure on Putin to stop this war.”
Axios, citing Ukrainian sources familiar with the discussions, reported that the two-and-a-half hour meeting was tense, at times getting “emotional.”
“Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough,” one source described the meeting to Axios.
In a post on Truth Social after his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said “it is time to stop the killing, and make a deal.” He later told reporters he wanted Ukraine and Russia to freeze the war along the current battle lines.
The meeting — the sixth since Trump’s return to office — comes one day after Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and their announcement of a planned summit in Hungary.
Following his session with Trump, Zelensky held a conference call with several European leaders, including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
A map showing Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine as of 2025. (The Kyiv Independent)
Warm words, few promises
Zelensky and Trump offered praise for each other’s leadership at the start of their joint briefing.
Trump even complimented Zelensky’s jacket — a pointed reference to their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February, where one of Trump’s complaints was Zelensky’s lack of suit.
“(Zelensky) looks beautiful in his jacket,” Trump said on Oct. 17. “I hope people notice … it’s actually very stylish.”
The U.S. president also spoke highly of Zelensky’s character and their positive relationship.
“It’s an honor to be with a very strong leader, a man who has been through a lot, and a man who I’ve gotten to know very well, and we’ve gotten along really very well,” Trump told reporters.
Zelensky expressed cautious optimism about the prospects for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, emphasizing both the urgency of peace and Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes.
“We understand that Putin is not ready. I think (he’s) not ready, but I’m confident that with your help, we can stop this war,” Zelensky said. “We see that they don’t have successful steps on the battlefield, and it’s good. I think that their army is weak now, and a lot of losses there.”
Going into the meeting with Trump, the Ukrainian delegation hoped the U.S. was prepared for more decisive action against Russia. After speaking with Zelensky in New York on Sept. 23, Trump said Ukraine, with European support, can reclaim all Russian-occupied territories — a remark that fueled speculation about a shift in U.S. policy.
Zelensky then said he held what he called “productive” phone calls with Trump on Oct. 11 and 12, focusing on air defenses and long-range strike capabilities. Trump said on Oct. 15 that Ukraine wants to “go offensive,” without providing details, and that he would decide whether to approve such a plan after meeting Zelensky in Washington.
After their talks on Oct. 17, Zelensky said the conversation with Trump was “productive” while Trump described it as “interesting” and “cordial.” Despite the leaders’ warm tone, the meeting ended with no concrete promises.
What to expect from Zelensky-Trump meeting as Ukraine hopes for Tomahawks
Editor’s note: The story was updated with additional details. President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington on Oct. 17 as Kyiv seeks to secure more robust support for the war with Russia. With Trump warming up to Ukraine, there are hopes that the meeting – his sixth with Zelensky since taking office – could lead to the deliveries of the much-coveted Tomahawks. Although the White House publicly floated arming Ukraine with the powerful long-range
Tomahawks
Trump did not commit to Tomahawks for Ukraine, telling reporters ahead of the closed-door meeting that the U.S. needs to maintain its own supply of the missiles. But he also signaled openness to a weapons deal with Kyiv that could involve U.S.-made missiles and Ukrainian drones.
Zelensky suggested that Washington’s provision of Tomahawks could be part of a mutually beneficial defense partnership, in which Kyiv could help the U.S. gain an edge in drone technology.
“If you want to target a military goal, you need thousands of drones,” Zelensky said.
“It goes together with such missiles (as Tomahawks). … United States has Tomahawks and other missiles, very strong missiles, but they can have our thousands of drones. That’s where we can work together.”
Trump said he was open to a weapons deal with Ukraine.
“They make a very good drone,” he said.
Before traveling to the U.S., Zelensky said that part of the agenda for the trip included talks on Kyiv’s so-called “Mega Deal” — a major agreement on the purchase of American weapons — and a “Drone Deal,” a plan to sell Ukrainian unmanned systems to the U.S. The deal was initially earmarked to be worth up to $90 billion.
Kyiv has repeatedly stressed the need to reinforce its ability to target Russian military sites and energy infrastructure with long-range weapons, aiming to increase the economic costs of Moscow’s war while strengthening its own air defense network against Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid.
The potential delivery of Tomahawks, which can strike targets between 1,600 and 2,500 kilometers (1,000–1,600 miles) away, would dramatically alter Ukraine’s long-range strike capability.
Zelensky reportedly showed Trump a map of possible targets to hit inside Russia during their White House meeting, a member of the Ukrainian delegation told the Agence France-Presse.
Ukraine’s new ambassador to US Olha Stefanishyna: ‘I will concentrate all efforts on ending the war, providing defense aid’ (Interview)
Washington, DC – Olha Stefanishyna was appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. on Aug. 27, 2025 — and has hardly had a moment of rest since. In the few weeks that passed, she moved to the U.S., helped prepare the meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. leaders during the U.S. summit, worked on a bilateral drone deal, and prepared for the Ukrainian delegation’s mid-October visit to the United States, among other things. Stefanishyna, 39, is no career diplomat. A lawyer by training, she spent most
‘Escalation’ claims
Russia has responded to the threat of Tomahawks with dire warnings and saber-rattling — a tactic that appears to make an impact on Trump.
The Kremlin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said that the Putin directly raised the matter during his recent phone call with Trump.
“Vladimir Putin reiterated his point that Tomahawks would not change the situation on the battlefield but would cause significant harm to relations between (Russia and the U.S.),” he said.
Putin has warned that transferring Tomahawks to Kyiv would represent a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.”
Trump himself parroted this point during his Oct. 17 meeting with Zelensky.
“They’re a very powerful weapon, but they’re a very dangerous weapon,” he told reporters in their briefing. “And it could mean big, you know, escalation. It could mean lot of bad things can happen. Tomahawks are a big deal.”
Zelensky told reporters after the meeting that he discussed Tomahawk missiles with Trump, but would not comment on the details of those talks.
“We spoke about also about long-range (missiles) of course. And I want not to make statements about it. We decided that we don’t speak about it because … United States doesn’t want escalation,” Zelensky said.
Asked whether he was more or less optimistic about Ukraine getting Tomahawks after speaking with Trump, Zelensky said he was “realistic.”
What’s next for Trump and Putin
While Zelensky told reporters outright that Putin was “scared of Tomahawks,” Trump did not credit the threat of Tomahawk missiles for bringing Putin back to the negotiating table.
“I don’t know what’s bringing him — I think he wants to make a deal, that’s all,” Trump said. “I can’t tell you what’s bringing him.”
Trump, who has been hesitant to impose any material consequences on Russia in his push for a peace deal, claimed that both Zelensky and Putin were ready to end the war — but personal animosty between the leaders has delayed the process.
“I think President Zelensky wants it done and I think President Putin wants it done,” said.
“Now all they have to do is get along a little bit.”
Trump’s comments on Truth Social after the meeting were also directed at Zelensky and Putin, urging both leaders to “stop the killing.” Instead of threatening Russia with consequences for prolonging and escalating the war, he called for Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are.”
“They should stop where they are. Let both claim victory, let history decide! No more shooting, no more death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent,” he wrote.
In remarks to reporters later that evening, Trump reiterated his call for an immediate end to the war and said Ukraine and Russia should stop the fighting along the current line of contact.
“In my opinion, they should stop the war immediately. You go by the battle line, wherever it is, otherwise it’s too complicated, you’ll never be able to figure it out,” he said.
“You stop at the battle line, and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it. Stop right now at the battle line. I told that to President Zelensky, I told it to President Putin.”
Russia currently occupies around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Trump’s planned summit with Putin in Budapest would be the second meeting between U.S. and Russian leaders since 2022, raising questions in Kyiv and Europe about how Trump’s diplomacy could alter the course of the war.
The U.S. president said the meeting with Putin would “most likely be a double one.”
“It’ll be a double meeting, but we will have the president, Zelensky, in touch. There’s a lot of bad blood between the two presidents,” the U.S. president added, without elaborating.
A source at the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that Zelensky’s team was not aware of any plans for a call between Putin and Trump ahead of the White House meeting.
“(Trump’s) entire tactic is to end the war. So the main thing is that the tactic works,” the source said.
Sources familiar with the Trump-Putin call told CNN that during the conversation, the U.S. president did not rule out the possibility of sending the requested missiles to Ukraine.
Trump and Putin last spoke on Aug. 18, after Trump’s meetings with Zelensky and European leaders. The U.S. president said he was arranging a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents.
By inviting Zelensky to meet in Moscow, Putin effectively declined direct talks with the Ukrainian leader. Zelensky has repeatedly said he is willing to meet Putin on neutral ground. In his press conference after the White House meeting, he said he was ready to hold talks in a bilateral or trilateral format.
Trump and Putin also met in Alaska on Aug. 15 to discuss prospects for a peace settlement and bilateral cooperation — their first meeting since Trump returned to office in January. Despite the talks, no progress has been made toward ending the war.
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported that the Alaska summit convinced Putin he could intensify air strikes on Ukraine without facing major pushback from Washington.
Since then, Russia has increased its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, and various drone sightings have been reported throughout Europe, with some officials indicating these might be Russian provocations.
As the meeting ended in Washington, air raid alarms once again sounded throughout Ukraine in response to waves of Russian drones. Explosions have been reported in multiple cities, including Cherkasy, Poltava, and Kharkiv, at the time of publication.
Editorial: President Trump, don’t fall for Putin’s bullsh*t — again
We’ve been here before. Multiple times. Not even that long ago. President Donald Trump has appeared to be on the verge of taking a decisive step that could genuinely put pressure on Russia to make it end its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and then the phone rings. “Hey Don, it’s Vlad — wanna chat?” And puff, just like that all the momentum disappears and Russia is allowed to carry on its war unabated. The latest installment of this particular Groundhog Day unfolded last night when Trump anno
