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During Zelensky meet, Trump hesitant on sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine: 'We need them'
Trump suggested that continued US support for Ukraine could strain America's own defense capabilities.
United States President Donald Trump on Friday showed hesitancy in sending Tomahawks to Ukraine, while raising concerns that America needs them too.
Trump, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, further suggested that continued US support for Ukraine could strain America's own defense capabilities, Reuters reported.
Responding to a question on what the US would do if it faced a conflict and needed Tomahawks, Trump said, “That's a problem, though. We need tomahawks, and we need a lot of other things that we've been sending over the last four years to Ukraine.”
He further added that America had given “a lot” to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said that Ukraine has thousands of drones, but the country needs missiles as well. “We don't have Tomahawks, that's why we need Tomahawks,” he Ukrainian leader said.
Trump, however, stated that he would “much rather have them (Ukraine) not need Tomahawks.”
The shift in the stance of the US President, who had in recent days shown an openness to supplying Tomahawk missile to Kyiv, came after a phone call with Putin.
During the conversation, the Russian President warned Trump that the Tomahawks would “not change the situation on the battlefield, but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries”, according to Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov.
The US President said Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to end the war”. “…I think that President Putin wants to end the war, or I wouldn't be talking this way. I think he wants to end the war,” Trump added.
Trump said that he had spoken with Putin “for two and a half hours”, adding that both of them had gone through “a lot of details.”
“He wants to get it ended. I think that President Zelenskyy wants to get it ended. Now we have to get it done,” the US President said.
Before his meeting with Zelensky, Trump had stated that he would discuss his call with Putin, with the Ukrainian leader. During the meeting with Zelensky, Trump was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump had, after his call with Russian President Putin on Thursday, said that both leaders could hold a summit in Budapest, Hungary.
