Trump won't supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have come away empty-handed from his meeting yesterday with Donald Trump, who indicated that he would not be supplying the sought-after Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Zelensky said after the cordial bilateral that he and Trump had talked about the long-range missiles, but decided not to make statements on the issue "because the United States does not want an escalation".

Following the meeting, Trump took to social media to call for Kyiv and Moscow to "stop where they are" and end the war.

Zelensky firmly believes that the deployment of Tomahawk missiles on Russian oil and energy facilities would severely weaken Putin's war economy.

"Hopefully they won't need it, hopefully we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks," the US president said, adding that America needed the weapons.

Trump said sending the missiles would be "an escalation, but we'll be talking about it".

The Ukrainian leader offered Trump drones in exchange for the missiles, but wasn't only met with smiles from the President.

Outside after wards, Zelensky was asked by a reporter if he thought Putin wanted a deal or was just buying time with the planned meeting with Trump in Budapest.

"I don't know," he said, adding that the prospect of Ukraine having Tomahawks had caused Russia to be "afraid because it is a strong weapon".

Asked if he was leaving Washington more optimistic that Ukraine would get the Tomahawks, he said:"I am realistic."

In a post on X, Zelensky said he had called European leaders to share details of the meeting with Trump, adding that the "main priority now is to protect as many lives as possible, guarantee security for Ukraine, and strengthen all of us in Europe."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the call with European leaders was "productive" and promised that "the UK will continue to send humanitarian aid and military support".

---

Meanwhile Trump is engaging in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Thursday, Trump said "great progress" was made during a phone call with Putin, with the pair agreeing to face-to-face talks soon in Hungary.