Image Credit: TOM BRENNER / Contributor / Getty 
Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky begged for long-range Tomahawk missiles from President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. Although the President has yet to conclusively announce if he will or will not give Kiev the weapons, he did say the Tomahawks would escalate the situation. Notably, Trump said on October 6 that it is not his intention to escalate the conflict.
The President took to social media after the meeting concluded to state that his interaction with Zelensky was “interesting,” but that he is pursuing peace.
The meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL! Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts. They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide! No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent. This is a War that would have never started if I were President. Thousands of people being slaughtered each and every week — NO MORE, GO HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES IN PEACE!
“We’d much rather have them not need Tomahawks,” Trump said Friday while also explaining that Washington would prefer “the war be over.”
President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Lunch with the President of Ukraine https://t.co/vkBmLTwnem
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 17, 2025
“We’re going to be talking about that,” Trump said earlier on Friday regarding potential new capabilities that could allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia. “That’s something we’ll be talking about. You’re right. It’s an escalation, but we’ll be talking about that.”
BREAKING VIDEO: President Trump Doubles Down on Claim That Ukraine Can Reclaim All The Territory It's Lost To Russia In Meeting With Zelensky!
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) October 17, 2025
Alex Jones Responds, "This Is Bullsh*t!"
PLUS, Zelensky Refuses To Make ANY Concessions In Negotiations With Putin To End The War! pic.twitter.com/5YF08Jv3df
Trump’s statements to the BBC during Friday’s meeting indicate trepidation on the prospect of a missile transfer:
The BBC’s Bernd Debusman Jr asks Trump if the threat of the US giving Tomahawks to Ukraine is bringing Putin to the table.
Trump says he can’t say and that he just wants to make a deal.
Giving Ukraine Tomahawks “could mean bigger escalation, a lot of bad things can happen.” He says the US also needs Tomahawks too, and “we don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.”
When asked if he believes he could convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, Trump replied, “Yup, we can.”
“We’re not losing people, we’re not spending money, we’re getting paid for the ammunition and missiles… we’ve made a very good deal with NATO… that’s not what we’re in this for. We’re in it to save thousands of lives…”
.@POTUS on Ukraine: "We're not losing people, we're not spending money, we're getting paid for the ammunition and missiles and everything else… and we've made a very good deal with NATO… that's not what we're in this for. We're in it to save thousands of lives every week." pic.twitter.com/OI5yn606bn
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 17, 2025
The President’s statement on Friday echos the sentiment he had earlier in the month.
“I think I want to find out what they’re doing with them,” Trump said of Ukraine’s Tomahawk request on October 6. “I would ask some questions. I’m not looking to escalate that war.”
Zelensky said earlier in the week that his main objective of going to Washington was to acquire the missiles.
“The main focus of the visit is air defense and our long-range capabilities,” Ukraine’s Dictator said Tuesday.
Notably, when the autopen presidency of Joe Biden approved the use of long-range missiles against targets deep within Russia last year, a thermonuclear war nearly broke out.
The President has been mulling over the idea of sending long-range missiles to Ukraine over the last several weeks. The missile’s in question are nuclear-capable, and only after they strike their targets deep within Russia will Moscow know if they are being nuked or not.
Although the Dictator pleaded for missiles, the President expressed hope that his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will net positive results in ending the war, making the missile transfer unnecessary.
During the Zelensky meeting Friday, Trump described the upcoming in-person meeting with Putin as a “double meeting” during which he would meet with both Putin and also Zelensky, but separately.
“These two leaders do not like each other, and we want to make it comfortable for everybody,” Trump said, explaining how he is the mediator.
The New York Times detailed Trump’s answer as to his perspective of being in the middle of the situation:
When asked if he was concerned that Putin’s outreach to Trump was an attempt to buy more time and prolong the war, Trump said, “Yeah I am, but I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well, so it’s possible.”
The Dictator even offered to trade Ukrainian drones for U.S. missiles.
“We build our own drones, but we also buy drones from others and they make a very good drone,” Trump said Friday. “Drone warfare has really come to the fore over the last couple of years because of this war.”
On Thursday Trump held a call with Putin where the President reported future prospects of industrial and economic cooperation between Washington and Moscow. Zelensky rejected such notions:
Zelensky said he was “not happy” with Moscow’s idea of building a tunnel connecting Alaska and Russia through the Bering Strait. Kyiv has been competing with Moscow to curry Trump’s favor with lucrative economic deals.
As was the case during his last White House visit in August, Zelensky managed to maintain civility Friday, a polite surprise after his fiery February failure.
The BBC detailed how Zelensky approached Trump with kindness on Friday:
Zelensky says he and Trump are beginning “to understand each other” and that Trump is “briefed very well” about the battlefield situation.
“I think it really helps,” he says. “But we are still in a war.”
Zelensky went so far as to attempt to flatter the President:
Zelensky is trying to tap into the fact Trump clearly feels buoyant about his Gaza ceasefire; he’s been flattering Trump over that breakthrough and suggesting he can build on the momentum to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.
That plays into the second part of Zelensky’s strategy (similar to that of the European countries) to push the idea that the only block to ending the war is Putin – constantly trying to throw Trump’s ball into the Kremlin’s court.
Lastly, the sense of jeopardy for Zelensky remains clear.
Trump hasn’t sounded too hot on Zelensky’s hopes for US-made Tomahawk missiles, at one point appearing to suggest instead he thinks he can end the war without that.
While previous meetings featured Zelensky in a dictator outfit, he appeared in a black jacket with a black shirt, no necktie but top button buttoned on Friday, as if to symbolize mourning or adherence to the goth subculture:
Embed from Getty ImagesWASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 17: United States President Donald Trump greets the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington DC, United States on October 17, 2025. (Photo by Celal Güne/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“I think he looks beautiful in this jacket— yes, beautiful, I hope people notice. It’s a good, it’s actually very stylish, I like it,” Trump said.
Perhaps most interesting was the BBC’s analysis of why Tomahawks may not actually be suitable for Ukraine:
The main obstacle is the lack of launchers for these cruise missiles in the US.
The BGM-109 Tomahawk is a naval missile launched from the MK41 vertical launch system, typically mounted on ships and submarines. The Ukrainian Navy does not have the necessary ships to operate these missiles.
Air- and land-launched versions were developed in the 1970s, but the air-launched Tomahawk lost out to competitors, and the land-based version was banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
In 2019, the INF Treaty ceased to exist, and the US began reviving the Tomahawk land-based mobile launcher program.
The new system is called Typhon, and it entered service with the US Army in 2023. Currently, the US military has at least two Typhon launchers, but it is unlikely to have many more.
Therefore, when discussing the possibility of transferring Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, we must consider whether the Americans hand over weapons that they have only just begun to produce.
The Dictator remained defiant on peace.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Reporter asks Zelensky an AMAZING question – she just said what MILLIONS of Americans are thinking
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 17, 2025
Trump reacted: "That's some question!" 🤣
REPORTER: "Both sides have to meet concessions. Our president has stuck out HIS NECK in MANY ways to make peace for your… pic.twitter.com/fwUzM1UNTX
The Dictator has now departed:
President Volodymyr Zelensky departed the White House at 3:57 pm Eastern after his meeting with President Donald Trump and several U.S. Cabinet officials.
The Ukrainian president was at the White House for about 2.5 hours and was escorted out by Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley.
