Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left Washington on Friday without the long-sought Tomahawk cruise missiles he had hoped to secure from U.S. President Donald Trump. The brief and tense meeting at the White House marked another setback in Kiev’s efforts to gain advanced weaponry as the war in Ukraine drags on and Western support becomes increasingly uncertain.
While Trump had signaled openness in recent weeks to provide Tomahawk missiles, his tone shifted sharply following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. According to reports, the two leaders agreed to meet in Hungary within weeks, and Trump subsequently suggested the United States could not spare its Tomahawk stockpile, calling them essential for domestic defense. “We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,” Trump told reporters before the meeting.
The talks between the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations lasted several hours, but according to sources close to both sides, Trump avoided substantive discussion on the missile issue. Moments after the meeting concluded, Trump departed for his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, leaving Zelensky to address reporters outside the White House. Zelensky confirmed that Trump “had chosen not to discuss Tomahawks,” though he stopped short of criticizing the decision.
Following the meeting, Zelensky held an urgent call with several European leaders to brief them on the developments before meeting with representatives of major U.S. defense contractors. The outcome adds to a growing sense of frustration among European capitals, many of which have been counting on U.S. leadership to maintain pressure on Moscow.
Trump’s reversal fits a pattern seen throughout his second term. In May, he backed an EU ultimatum demanding Russia end the war or face sanctions—only to pivot days later in support of a Putin proposal for direct talks in Istanbul. A similar shift occurred in August, when Trump threatened tariffs on Russia’s trading partners before reversing course after agreeing to a summit in Alaska.
With the Tomahawk issue now effectively shelved, officials in Kiev fear that even harsher rhetoric and unpredictable diplomacy may follow Trump’s next meeting with Putin—continuing a cycle of threats, summits, and abrupt reversals that has left U.S. allies struggling to keep pace.