Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House on Friday hoping to secure new U.S. weapons — particularly long-range Tomahawk missiles. But President Donald Trump made it clear that his priority is ending the war, not escalating it, according to a Reuters report.
After their two-hour meeting, Trump told reporters, “I told President Zelensky — stop the war now. Halt the front lines, send everyone home, stop the killing.”
He also revealed plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon in Hungary — a move that has raised new questions over whether Washington will continue providing military aid to Kyiv or pivot toward a peace deal.
“I believe Zelensky wants peace, and so does Putin,” Trump said. “They just need to find a way to get along.”
Zelensky, however, emphasized that a ceasefire is far from simple. “We want the war to stop too, but Putin doesn’t want that,” he told reporters.
During the meeting, Zelensky said Ukraine possesses thousands of drones ready to strike Russian targets but needs Tomahawk missiles to strengthen its defense. “We don’t have Tomahawks, and we need them,” he said.
Trump replied, “We don’t want you to need Tomahawks. We want to keep them for our own defense.”
Following the talks, Zelensky described the discussion as “productive” but admitted, “I’m realistic — the United States doesn’t want to escalate the war right now.” He added that his main hope is for Trump to pressure Putin into halting the fighting.
Trump’s peace-oriented approach has sparked concern across Europe, where leaders fear a potential U.S.-Russia deal could favor Moscow. An EU spokesperson commented, “If there’s a genuine chance for peace in these talks, we would welcome that.”
Analysts say the meeting likely fell short of Zelensky’s expectations. Former U.S. diplomat and senior IISS fellow Michael Carpenter said, “Washington’s current policy shows no intention of increasing pressure on Russia. Trump’s position makes that clear.”
Still, Trump took a lighter moment to compliment Zelensky, remarking, “He’s wearing a very stylish dark jacket today. People used to say he never wears jackets — look at him now, he looks great.”
Discussing his upcoming meeting with Putin, Trump added, “Many have tried to fool me before, but I’ve always managed to come out on top. Let’s see what happens this time.”
Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have seized nearly 5,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year — about one percent of the country’s total area. Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, countered that Russia’s latest offensive had failed.
Analyst Max Bergmann noted that “Putin is simply buying time to keep U.S. arms supplies suspended,” while Mykola Bieleskov of Ukraine’s Come Back Alive military foundation said, “If Ukraine had received Tomahawks, it could have pressured Russia’s military supply lines.”
