Zelenskyy to Meet Trump in US to Discuss Arms 'Mega Deal'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the US, during which a meeting with President Donald Trump is planned. The visit's agenda is highly saturated and focuses on military and economic issues that could significantly affect the timeline for ending the war.

As reported by "Suspilne," on Thursday, October 16, Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with representatives of American defense and energy companies. Before meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, the Ukrainian president will also hold meetings in the US Congress. Additionally, a meeting with Ukrainian journalists is expected. It has not yet been confirmed whether a joint press conference of the two presidents will take place.

Preparations for the visit are proceeding at a high level. On the night of October 16, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, announced his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, describing it as "key." The meeting was also attended by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Olga Stefanishyna.

The meeting of the presidents, which will take place on October 17, will be a continuation of their telephone conversations on October 11 and 12. During those talks, they discussed Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the provision of armaments for Ukraine, and the purchase of weapons under the "Mega Deal" agreement.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had stated that Ukraine is preparing a major deal for the purchase of armaments from the US. Among the priorities are air defense systems and HIMARS missile systems with modifications for ATACMS tactical missiles. As the Ukrainian president noted, Kyiv has already done its "homework" by preparing the military and economic parts of the agenda.

Moscow has already reacted to Kyiv's plans. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the supply of "Tomahawk-type" missiles to Ukraine would cause enormous damage to relations between Russia and the US. "Trump noted that he does not want an escalation in relations. And the supply of missiles would be an escalation, and a very serious one," Lavrov told "Kommersant."