US President Donald Trump appeared hesitant to provide Ukraine with US-made Tomahawk missiles as he answered reporters’ questions at the White House meeting room shortly after welcoming his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump noted that the weapons – which Kyiv has sought for weeks – are highly difficult and time-consuming to produce, noting that he cannot easily supply them.
He stressed that the US only maintains a certain amount of these projectiles, which are a critical part of the country’s offensive weapons arsenal, adding that he has an “obligation” to maintain “full US stockpiles”.
“You never know when you’re going to need them,” said Trump.
Zelenskyy in turn suggested that a trade-off deal can be reached between the two countries, stating that Ukraine produces lots of drones, which have proven highly effective on the battlefield, which it can sell to the US.
“We would be interested in Ukrainian drones. We build our own drones, but we also buy drones from others. And they make very good drones," said the US president, while noting that the premise of such an exchange will need further discussions.
Trump also asserted that he’d much rather capitalise on the current momentum and end the war “without thinking about Tomahawks”.
The leaders have now entered into a closed-door meeting and lunch, where they’ll be discussing a plethora of topics, including the highly-desired Tomahawks and the upcoming Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary.
