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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his reportedly tense meeting with US President Donald Trump last week was “positive,” even though he failed to secure Tomahawk missiles for the fight against Russia.
In comments to reporters on Sunday and embargoed until Monday morning, Zelenskyy claimed that Trump gave up the possibility of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine after speaking by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin hours before the Friday meeting.
Trump on Friday called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end the war.
“In my opinion, he does not want an escalation with the Russians until he meets with them,” Zelenskyy said.
According to Zelenskyy, Trump said during their meeting that Putin’s maximalist demand (that Ukraine give up all of its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk) remained unchanged.
Zelenskyy expressed skepticism about Putin’s proposal to exchange some territories he holds in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions if Ukraine hands over Donetsk and Luhansk, saying the proposal was unclear.
Ukraine’s leader said Trump ultimately supported a freeze along the current front line.
“We share President Trump’s positive outlook if it leads to the end of the war,” Zelenskyy said, citing “many rounds of discussion for more than two hours with him and his team.”
Zelenskyy was diplomatic in his meeting with Trump despite reports that he faced pressure to agree to Putin’s demands. The meeting followed the disastrous Oval Office dispute on February 28, when the Ukrainian president was scolded on live television for not being grateful for continued US support.
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Later on Monday, Trump told reporters that Ukraine could still win the war. “I don’t think they will. They could still win it. I never said they would win it,” he said. “Anything can happen, you know, war is a very strange thing.”
Zelenskyy said he hopes Trump’s meeting in the coming weeks with Putin in Hungary (which does not support Ukraine) will pave the way for a peace deal. Their first summit of Trump’s current term took place in Alaska in August.
Zelenskyy said he has not been invited to attend, but would consider it if the format of the talks was fair to kyiv.
He also attacked Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, saying he does not believe that a prime minister “who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even offer a balanced contribution.”
Zelenskyy said he believes all sides have gotten “closer” to a possible end to the war.
“That doesn’t mean it will definitely end, but President Trump has achieved a lot in the Middle East and, riding that wave, he wants to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he added.
Ukraine hopes to buy 25 Patriot air defense systems from U.S. companies using frozen Russian assets and partner assistance, but Zelenskyy said acquiring them all would take time due to long production waits. He said he spoke to Trump about help getting them more quickly, potentially from European partners.
Zelenskyy said the United States is interested in bilateral gas projects with Ukraine, including the construction of an LNG terminal in the southern port city of Odessa. Other projects of interest include those related to nuclear energy and oil.
Associated Press writer Aamer Mahdani contributed from Washington.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
