Trump Plans Putin Summit; Zelensky Seeks Tomahawks, Offers Drones

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House to press President Donald Trump for long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles and offered thousands of drones plus economic and energy cooperation in return. Trump expressed reluctance to supply Tomahawks, citing U.S. stockpile needs and fears of escalation, and officials and analysts warned such transfers would greatly expand Kyiv’s strike range and risk major escalation. Multiple accounts described the meeting as tense and at times emotional, with Trump ending the session abruptly and calling a roughly two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin beforehand "very productive." Trump and Putin now plan a follow-up in-person summit in Hungary, a development that, along with softer U.S. rhetoric toward Moscow, complicates Ukraine’s prospects for receiving the weapons and has raised concerns among European and NATO officials. NATO leaders including Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that any dialogue with Russia must be grounded in continued Western political, financial and military support, and analysts say logistical limits and political risks make concrete Tomahawk transfers unlikely for now.