Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a potential exchange of Ukrainian-made drones for U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles during a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Zelensky, speaking at the start of a working lunch with Trump, said Ukraine urgently needs the long-range missiles and offered thousands of domestically produced drones in return.
“Ukraine has thousands of our production drones but we don’t have Tomahawks. That’s why we need Tomahawks… They (US) can have our thousands of drones, that’s where we can work together,” Zelensky said.
President Trump responded with caution, expressing concern over U.S. stockpile levels. “Hopefully they won’t need it, hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks,” he said. “We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too.”
On the issue of a peace settlement, Trump declined to offer a definitive stance on whether Ukraine would need to cede territory to Russia to end the conflict.
“You never know… War is very interesting. You never know. You just never know with war, war and peace, but you never know,” he said.
Trump’s comments reflect a shift from earlier positions. He previously suggested “land swaps” might be necessary during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but later stated that Ukraine could reclaim all occupied territory.
The latest remarks suggest Trump is awaiting further developments in negotiations before committing to a firm position on territorial concessions.
