In the struggle to end the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump prefers options other than providing US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House actually had a very specific topic: long-range tomahawk weapons that Ukraine is requesting for its defense against the aggressor Russia. At the end of the visit, the public is as smart as ever. And many more questions have arisen.
Are the Tomahawks off the table now?
That is unclear. US President Donald Trump made no mention of the Tomahawk precision weapon in his first post on Truth Social after the conversation with Zelensky in Washington. With their help, Kyiv could play a more offensive role in the war. The Ukrainian army could fire the cruise missiles far into Russia.
In recent weeks, the US has also mentioned that Ukraine would like to have tomahawks. But Trump remained vague and emphasized before the conversation that the USA also needed its tomahawks. In the televised public part of Zelensky’s visit, Trump said that the war could hopefully be ended without having to think about these weapons.
Has Trump changed his stance on war?
Some time ago, Trump, who fluctuates in his positions on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, assessed the situation as follows: Ukraine could retake its territory from the Russian aggressor with the help of Western allies. With time, patience and financial support, particularly from NATO, the original borders were an “option” at the time the war began, it was said at the time. Trump had become increasingly annoyed with the Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin shown. Zelenskyj came to the White House with a tailwind – with promises from European allies for even more arms aid.
Now, in his first post after Zelensky’s visit, Trump appealed to both sides to end the war. “They should stop where they are.” However, he did not specify this in much more detail. Addressing Russia and Ukraine, he also emphasized: “STOP IT, GO HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES IN PEACE!”. He did not mention that Russia was the aggressor in the war.
Trump’s behavior could have something to do with a next important meeting with Putin in Budapest.
What does Trump want to discuss with Putin in Budapest?
It is not yet clear when exactly Trump and Putin will meet in Budapest. Trump announced on Thursday that he wanted to meet with him in the Hungarian capital “probably in the next two weeks.” The US President sees himself as a mediator in the Ukraine war. However, it has now become clear that the meeting will probably take place without Zelensky. Trump said he wanted to keep in touch with the Ukrainian.
This is reminiscent of Trump’s invitation to Putin to Alaska in August. The Ukrainian wasn’t there either. The meeting had no tangible results at the time. A three-way meeting that the US President had spoken of never took place. Russia has been waging a destructive war of aggression against Ukraine for more than three and a half years.
The question is how much the phone call that Trump and Putin had on Thursday influenced the discussions in the White House the following day. Trump called the phone call with Putin “very productive.” According to the Russian account, the initiative to talk to Trump this time came from Moscow. The official occasion was Putin’s congratulations on Trump’s success in the negotiations on the Gaza war.
In recent weeks, the US President has shown himself to be very disappointed with Putin and appealed to other allies to weaken Russia economically in order to empty the attacker’s war chest. The US imposed sanctions on India to stop the country buying oil from Russia.
Another thing to keep in mind: Trump plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of the month to discuss the two countries’ trade conflict. Following his course with India, the US President says he wants to persuade China to stop trading energy with Russia. It is still unclear whether the meeting will take place before or after the meeting with Putin.
Will Zelensky go home empty-handed?
That too remains open. At a press conference after the meeting, Zelensky formally referred to a request from the US side not to discuss the tomahawk issue any further publicly. “The USA doesn’t want any escalation,” said the Ukrainian, explaining his request. Nevertheless, the topic is not off the table, at least for him. “We have to work more on this,” he emphasized.
The question is whether the Americans don’t want to have their cards checked before the Putin meeting and therefore don’t make a public commitment.
Zelensky once again explained why his country needs weapons. With the available air defense systems, Ukraine is currently not in a position to adequately combat Russian ballistic missiles. “Our energy industry simply cannot withstand these blows,” said Zelensky. This is precisely why pressure must be built up on Russia and that consists of supplying the appropriate weapons. Kyiv wants to carry out combined attacks with drones and tomahawks. According to media reports, the Ukrainian delegation presented a map with destinations in Russia to the White House as an illustration. Zelensky assured: “They (the Russians) fear these combination attacks, they understand what we can do.”
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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX)