Zelenskyy to meet Trump, seeks air defence and energy support

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Arriving at the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump, October 17, 2025
Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, with talks expected to focus on additional military aid and support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington on Thursday for high-stakes meetings with defence and energy industry leaders as he prepares to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Today, I am having meetings with representatives of defence companies – producers of powerful weapons that can definitely strengthen our protection,” Zelenskyy wrote on the social media platform X. 

Trump is set to host Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, where the leaders are expected to discuss further military aid and support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure amid ongoing Russian attacks.

Earlier, Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet him in Hungary to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine, following meetings of high-level delegations next week.

According to the Kremlin, during the call, Putin warned that potential deliveries of long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine could damage Moscow-Washington relations.

Zelenskyy responded, saying: “We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he told Putin he might provide “a couple of thousand Tomahawks” to Ukraine, but that his Russian counterpart “didn’t like the idea.”

He added: “Tomahawk is a vicious weapon. It’s a vicious, offensive, incredibly destructive weapon. Nobody wants tomahawks shot at them.”

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