Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will travel to Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 17 for high-stakes talks expected to focus on bolstering Ukraine’s air defense and expanding its access to long-range weapons, including the possible transfer of U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles.
“The main focus of the visit is air defense and our long-range capabilities aimed at exerting pressure on Russia for the sake of peace,” Zelenskyy wrote. “I am grateful to President Trump for our dialogue and his support.”
The Washington visit follows back-to-back phone calls between the two leaders over the weekend, during which Zelenskyy said he briefed Trump on Ukraine’s urgent needs in defending its skies and striking deeper behind Russian lines. Kyiv has stepped up lobbying for Tomahawk cruise missiles—capable of hitting targets up to 1,000 miles away—as Russia intensifies strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and makes incremental gains along the front.
“Frankly, I’ve already shared our vision with Trump,” he told reporters in Kyiv. “But some of these things are not for a phone conversation, so we’ll meet.”
“They’d like to have Tomahawks. We talked about that. And so we’ll see,” he said, noting that he may speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin before finalizing a decision. “I might say, ‘Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks.’”
Trump described the Tomahawk as an “incredible weapon” that would be daunting for Russia.
The potential transfer marks one of the most consequential decisions of the war’s fourth year. Putin has said that supplying Tomahawks would constitute a “qualitatively new stage of escalation,” although the Russian leader has downplayed their battlefield impact, saying Russia would adapt its air defenses.
The Ukrainian delegation’s agenda in Washington extends beyond weapons. Zelenskyy said he plans to meet representatives of U.S. energy companies at Trump’s suggestion to discuss emergency power capacity as Ukraine braces for winter. Russian forces have recently targeted gas production facilities and the national grid, forcing Kyiv to consider electricity imports.
“There are pressing needs linked to various formats of attacks, not even the attacks that Russia has already carried out,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “In any case, we must be prepared.”
The visit also comes amid ongoing talks between Ukraine and the United States on a new defense-industrial pact involving joint drone development—including about maritime drones and ground robotic systems.
While diplomatic efforts to broker a cease-fire or political settlement have largely stalled, and Trump recently suggested that Ukraine was in a position to keep fighting and reclaim lost ground, he has also said that he does not want the conflict to spiral further.
“I’m not looking to see escalation,” Trump told reporters on Oct. 6, while repeatedly urging Putin to order a cease-fire and enter into serious peace talks.
