Trump rejects Zelensky on Tomahawk missiles in "tough" meeting
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Zelensky meets Trump at the White House. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a tense meeting on Friday that he doesn't intend to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles, at least for now, two sources briefed on the meeting tell Axios.
Why it matters: Zelensky hoped to leave Washington with commitments around new weapons for Ukraine, but found Trump in a totally different state of mind a day after he held a lengthy call with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump made clear his priority now is diplomacy, and he thinks providing Tomahawks could undermine it, the sources say.
Behind the scenes: One of the sources said the meeting "was not easy," while the other simply said "it was bad."
- "Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough," according to the first source.
- "Trump gave several strong statements during the meeting and at some points it got a bit emotional," the second source said.
- The meeting ended abruptly after 2.5 hours. "I think we're done. Let's see what happens next week," Trump said, referring to planned talks between the U.S. and Russia. Trump intends to meet Putin in Budapest some time in the next two weeks.
Zoom in: During the meeting, Trump briefed Zelensky on Thursday's call with Putin.
- He stressed that the current U.S. proposal for a diplomatic solution is for the war to end with the front lines frozen in place — a difficult proposition for Ukraine to accept.
- Trump hinted at that stance in a Truth Social post following the meeting. After describing the meeting as "interesting" and "cordial," he said he'd told both Zelensky and Putin that it was time to "stop where they are," adding: "Let both claim Victory, let History decide!"
- Trump then departed for Mar-a-Lago without taking questions from the press. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Split screen: Zelensky, meanwhile, held a conference call with European leaders immediately after the Trump meeting. Several of them seemed puzzled about Trump's apparent change of heart, a source who was on the call said.
- Soon after, the leaders started putting out coordinated statements of support for Ukraine — a clear indication that the meeting with Trump was not a success.
- In a briefing with reporters, Zelensky confirmed they had discussed Tomahawks but said he and Trump had decided not to discuss the matter publicly because the U.S. wants to avoid escalation.
- When asked if he's optimistic about the Tomahawks, Zelensky said: "I'm realistic."
In reality, the sources said, Zelensky pushed hard on Tomahawks but Trump pushed back and showed no flexibility.
What's next: During Zelensky's call with the European leaders, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposed working with the U.S. to draft peace for Ukraine along the lines of Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza, the source on the call said.
- NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte proposed an urgent follow-up call between European national security advisers over the weekend.
The bottom line: Zelensky's number one priority from the visit was to get commitments from Trump not just on Tomahawks but on a variety of weapons systems Ukraine wishes to obtain, his chief of staff told Axios ahead of the meeting.
- Trump offered no such commitments.
