Trump Denies Tomahawks, Pushes Ukraine for Ceasefire

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at the White House on October 17 hoping to receive weapons to continue the war against Russia, but he met a president who was more focused on brokering a peace deal than on replenishing Kyiv's arsenal. Although US President Donald Trump did not rule out providing the long-range "Tomahawk" missiles requested by Zelenskyy, he responded cautiously to the prospect, citing an upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks.

After more than two hours of talks with Zelenskyy, Trump urged Russia and Ukraine to "immediately stop the war," even if it means Ukraine has to cede territory.

"You are standing at the front line, and both sides need to go home, return to their families," Trump told reporters on his way to Florida. "Stop the killing. And that's it. Stop right now at the front line. I said that to President Zelenskyy. I said that to President Putin."

Trump's move to re-engage in dialogue with Putin, which had previously disappointed Zelenskyy and some European allies, cast a shadow over the warm meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. Before a closed-door lunch, the two presidents also discussed the phone call that took place between Trump and Putin the previous day. Trump is positioning himself as a mediator between the warring parties.

"I think both President Zelenskyy and President Putin want this to be over. Now they just need to find some common ground," Trump said.

However, Zelenskyy emphasized how difficult it is to achieve a ceasefire. "We want it. Putin doesn't," he replied.

The Ukrainian president was candid, stating that Kyiv has thousands of drones ready to attack Russian targets but needs American missiles. "We don't have 'Tomahawks,' that's why we need them," he said. Trump, in turn, replied, "We would prefer they didn't need 'Tomahawks'." Later, Trump reiterated that he wants the United States to maintain its arsenal. "We also need 'Tomahawks.' We don't want to give away what is necessary to defend our country."

After the meeting, which Zelenskyy described as productive, he told reporters that he did not want to talk about long-range missiles because the US does not want an escalation of the situation and that he is "realistic" about the possibility of receiving them. After having a phone call with European leaders following the meeting, Zelenskyy noted that he hopes Trump will pressure Putin "to stop this war."

It is unclear what Putin said to Trump that prompted the latter to agree to an upcoming meeting. Their August summit in Alaska ended prematurely without any serious progress. The Kremlin has stated that many issues still need to be decided, and the summit could take place "a little later" than the two-week timeframe mentioned by Trump.

Trump's conciliatory tone after his conversation with Putin has cast doubt on the likelihood of providing support to Ukraine in the near future and has once again activated European fears of a deal favorable to Russia.

Analysts note that in recent days, it seemed the White House was becoming increasingly frustrated with Putin and was leaning towards providing new support to Kyiv, including "Tomahawk" missiles. According to Zelenskyy, Russia "is afraid" of these missiles, and Moscow has warned that their supply would be considered a serious escalation. According to Max Bergmann, an expert on Russia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Putin's move was likely aimed at reducing the probability of such weapons being transferred.