US President Donald Trump appeared hesitant to approve Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine during a press briefing with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
Trump stated that he cannot readily provide the weapons, which Kyiv has been requesting for weeks, because they are very complex and time-consuming to construct.
He emphasized that the US only keeps a specific number of these projectiles, despite the fact that they are an essential component of the nation's offensive weaponry, and that he has a duty to keep "full US stockpiles."
“You never know when you’re going to need them,”
said Trump.
In response, Zelenskyy said that a trade-off agreement might be formed between the two nations, pointing out that Ukraine has a large number of drones that are very successful in combat and that it could sell to the US.
“We would be interested in Ukrainian drones. We build our own drones, but we also buy drones from others. And they make very good drones,"
said the US president, while noting that the premise of such an exchange will need further discussions.
Additionally, Trump declared that he would much rather build on the momentum and conclude the battle "without thinking about Tomahawks."
The leaders are now having a meal and discussion behind closed doors, where they will talk about a wide range of issues, such as the much-discussed Tomahawks and Trump's impending meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary.
What reasons did Trump give for hesitating on Tomahawks?
Trump stressed that the US must also maintain a minimum level of Tomahawks as a deterrent for ourselves.
Following a long call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that Putin expressed to him that he did not believe the transfer of Tomahawks would alter the balance of forces on the battlefield, but that it could harm US-Russia relations and jeopardize peace negotiations.
Trump expressed hope that a peace settlement could be reached without pouring more weapons in; he referred to forthcoming summit talks with Putin as a potential avenue to diplomatically end the war.