According to him, Zelensky’s meeting with Trump at the White House “could have been much more productive if the Ukrainian leader had reconsidered his approach and adjusted the agenda” after Trump’s long telephone conversation with the illegitimate president of the aggressor country, Russia, Vladimir Putin.
Last week, Zelensky “hoped to use the warming of relations” with the US president to secure supplies of Tomahawk cruise missiles, the author writes.
After successfully brokering a truce in Gaza, Trump could no doubt be interested in giving Ukraine what it needs to get Putin to get serious about the negotiation process, the article says. However, the observer notes, this did not happen.
One Republican foreign policy expert, who wished to remain anonymous, noted that “it was not a bad meeting, just a victim of poor timing and high expectations.”
Putin’s call should have forced the Ukrainian team to reconsider expectations and reduce their emphasis on Tomahawk, the expert adds. He noted that “there was no way that Trump would agree to deliveries of Tomahawk before meeting with Putin in Budapest.”
However, Ukraine “ignored the advice of its Republican allies in Washington,” many of whom are skeptical about the possibility of providing Tomahawk, fearing escalation and drawing the United States deeper into the war, the material says. Not to mention the Pentagon's concerns about its own stockpiles, which Trump himself hinted to reporters on October 17.
By focusing on the Tomahawk, Ukraine missed the opportunity to concentrate on other major requests: in particular, air-to-air missiles for the F-16 and MiG, as well as interceptors for the Patriot systems needed to shoot down drones and ballistic missiles, Dettmer said. In addition, attention to Tomahawk has distracted from the request to use frozen Russian assets to finance the defense of Ukraine, which is supported by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the publication emphasizes.
Also, limited progress was observed in negotiations on the import of liquefied natural gas from the United States, necessary due to the increasing attacks by Russia on the gas infrastructure of Ukraine, the media draws attention.
A delegation of Ukrainian ministers and officials, including the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, was unable to sign any major agreements. An anonymous Republican expert said that “the idea was that there would be many important agreements with American defense and energy companies ready, but in the end nothing was ready.”
Another Republican adviser added that the focus on Tomahawk was only part of the problem, and the rest was poor timing of Zelensky's visit and the overall strategy of lobbying Ukraine in Washington. According to him, part of the delegation would have to be sent a week after the meeting, and Zelensky’s proposal to exchange Ukrainian drones for Tomahawk was premature.
In addition, the Trump administration was heavily focused on the Middle East and the budget conflict between Democrats and Republicans, which is why Ukrainian issues received insufficient attention, the media writes.
At the same time, the expert admits that there is growing anxiety in Kyiv about preparations for winter, which could become the most difficult of the entire war.
The Republican adviser added that “there is a real danger that Ukraine could find itself in an energy disaster if Russia's attacks on energy infrastructure continue.”
