The article is updated on an ongoing basis.
The meeting started late, as it was scheduled to start at 19. Journalists gathered outside the White House shouted questions about ending the war in Ukraine, but neither leader responded, and then they went inside.
The meeting is different from previous ones because there is no part when both presidents meet in the Oval Office and answer questions from reporters. This time, the formula of a working lunch was chosen.
— We have very good relations. Yesterday we had a very good conversation with President Putin. We will talk about it. President Zelensky persevered a lot and we did it together with him. I think we've made great progress, we'll talk about it today, said Donald Trump before the talks began.
“I think things are going pretty well.” “It started in Alaska, where some guidelines were discussed and we want to see if we can do it,” he added. – We want to end this. So many people died in this war. We will make it end, Trump said.
Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke, thanking him for the invitation and congratulating Trump on achieving a ceasefire in the Middle East. — This is the moment to end the Russian war against Ukraine. We understand perfectly well that Putin is not ready, but he is convinced that with your help we can end this, Zelensky said. He added that Russia is not making progress on the front and is losing many soldiers.
Donald Trump praised Volodymyr Zelensky for his outfit. — I think he looks very good in the jacket. It's very stylish, I like it, he said.
Journalists asked Trump why he chose Hungary for the meeting with Putin and whether the Ukrainian president would join them. — I like Viktor Orban and he likes me. This is a country that is safe, they have done very well. He solved a number of problems that other countries have, so we decided to meet with Viktor Orban, Trump replied. He added that it is most likely that this will be a meeting only between him and Putin. – These two [Putin i Zełenski] They don't particularly like each other, he said.
What about Tomahawks for Ukraine?
Donald Trump suggested on Thursday, after a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, that there would be no sale of these missiles. He argued that the US needed them and could not exhaust its supplies.
Ukrainian MP Yehor Chernev said before the meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not discuss the sale of Tomahawk guided missiles with US President Donald Trump. This issue has been postponed until Trump's meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which is scheduled to take place in Hungary in the coming weeks.
Volodymyr Zelensky met with representatives of Tomahawk manufacturers
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that in Washington he met with representatives of Raytheon, which produces the Patriot systems and Tomahawk missiles, and Lockheed Martin. The talks concerned strengthening Ukrainian air defense and Ukraine's needs.
“We discussed the production capabilities of Raytheon, possible directions of our cooperation to strengthen air defense and increase Ukraine's long-range capabilities, and the prospects for Ukrainian-American production. There are solutions that can strengthen the protection of life in Ukraine. We are working at all levels to ensure their implementation,” Zelensky wrote in the Telegram messenger.
He added that at the meeting he informed his interlocutors about the current situation in Ukraine, in particular that Russia is not achieving its goals and is therefore intensifying attacks on civilian infrastructure and the population of Ukraine, especially the energy system, using over 500 drones and dozens of missiles a day.
“We discussed the prospects for cooperation and the possibilities of increasing Ukraine's protection against Russian aggression. I talked about Ukraine's specific needs in the field of air defense systems and missiles, as well as F-16 aircraft,” Zelensky noted.
According to the Ukrainian president, Russia is attacking Ukraine more and more brutally before winter arrives and his country needs strengthened anti-aircraft defense now.
