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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said he has a “proposition” for President Donald Trump to exchange drone capabilities for American high-precision long-range Tomahawk missiles.
“If you want to target a military goal, you need thousands of drones,” Zelenskyy said, pointing out that one single military capability will not win in a technology-driven war.
“Ukraine has such thousands of…drones, but we don’t have Tomahawks. That’s why we need Tomahawks,” Zelenskyy said. “The United States has Tomahawks and other missiles, very strong missiles, but they can have our thousands of drones.”
TRUMP SAYS ‘TREMENDOUS BAD BLOOD’ BETWEEN ZELENSKYY, PUTIN DELAYING PEACE DEAL DESPITE MIDDLE EAST MOMENTUM
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with unseen US President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Oct. 17, 2025. (Tom Brenner/AFP via Getty Images)
“That’s where we can work together,” he added.
When pressed by reporters on whether he would be “interested” in brokering a drone deal with Ukraine, Trump said, “Yeah, we would.”
“We have a lot of drones right now. We build our own drones, but we also buy drones from others, and they make very good drones,” Trump added.
TRUMP TO MEET WITH ZELENSKYY AS UKRAINE PUSHES FOR POWERFUL AMERICAN TOMAHAWK MISSILES AMID ONGOING WAR
The president acknowledged that giving Ukraine the sophisticated missiles capable of hitting beyond Moscow would be an “escalation.”
“Tomahawks are a big deal,” Trump said, adding that he also has an “obligation” to make sure the U.S. is “completely stocked” on its defensive needs.
“Because you never know what’s going to happen in war and peace, right? You never know what’s going to happen,” Trump said.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 17, 2025. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
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Trump appeared unlikely to agree to give Zelenskyy Tomahawks on Friday, and said he would prefer to see an end to the war.
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to meet in person in Hungary, though the date has not been set.
Zelenskyy is unlikely to be in attendance at that meeting.