WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� and met Tuesday ahead of , with the two leaders discussing ways for Ukraine to produce its own powerful weapons and 鈥渙ther ideas that could help鈥� in its ongoing war against Russia.
The sit-down in the Oval Office, which was closed to the media, followed a consequential meeting at earlier this month in Ankara, Turkey, where Trump announced that the U.S. will give Ukraine 鈥� a long-running request from Kyiv to counter Russian missile attacks.
Taken together, those meetings underscore how much the U.S. president, once a major skeptic of continued assistance to Kyiv, has warmed to Zelenskyy as Ukraine continues to withstand the Russian barrage more than four years after The Ukrainian leader, whose relationship with Trump in his second term was marked by a raucous White House visit in which he was denigrated for being ungracious, has worked to court the Republican administration while relying on both likely and unlikely allies in Trump’s orbit to exert their influence with the president.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has consumed much of the Trump administration’s focus this year, has also become gradually entwined with Ukraine, with in the Caspian Sea over the weekend while Zelenskyy asserts that Russia has been offering satellite imagery of U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf to Iran.
In a post on social media after the meeting, Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the 鈥済ood meeting鈥� and the Republican administration’s efforts to aid Kyiv in the long-running war. Officials also agreed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s main envoys, would make a trip to Kyiv sometime in the future, according to a person familiar with the talks who was granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting.
鈥淭he President and I discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help,鈥� said Zelenskyy, who also noted that he offered condolences to Trump for , a close ally. 鈥淲e also spoke about diplomacy 鈥� it鈥檚 important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated.鈥�
Trump on Tuesday night weighed in on his meeting with Zelenskyy, calling it a 鈥淕reat Honor鈥� to meet with him. 鈥淢any things were discussed. The meeting went very well!鈥� he wrote on Truth Social.
Zelenskyy wants to bolster Ukraine’s defense production
Later during his whirlwind, one-day visit to Washington, Zelenskyy posted that he met with officials from Lockheed Martin for further cooperation in both defense production and exchanging of technologies, saying, 鈥淯kraine has a lot to share with those who help us protect lives.鈥�
Later, in a meeting with senators at the Capitol, Zelensky again made his case for why Ukraine needs Patriot interceptors, as well as a sweeping sanctions bill to impact morale and increase pressure on Russia, according to two people with direct knowledge of the private discussion. They were granted anonymity to disclose details of a closed-door meeting.
While Ukraine remains grateful to Trump for agreeing to issue a license to manufacture the Patriots, Zelenskyy emphasized to senators that that is a longer-term solution. This year, Zelenskyy said, Ukraine will need the U.S. to provide missiles that Kyiv would pay for with European funds, said one of the people with knowledge of the meeting.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who like Zelenskyy was in Washington for Graham’s funeral, also spoke to senators, saying Ukraine retains strong support from NATO and the European Union in terms of providing and paying for weaponry, as well as imposing sanctions on Russia.
Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning Hudson Institute, said expanding production capacity for Patriot interceptors is not only vital for Ukraine, but also for the U.S. and its Gulf allies, particularly as supply runs low during the war in Iran.
鈥淯kraine has shown that its defense industry is capable, innovative and creative,鈥� Coffey said. 鈥淚 have no doubt that when they鈥檙e granted the license, they will be able to produce these missiles which will hopefully mean there will be more available for the U.S.鈥�
Trump welcomed Zelenskyy to the White House as the Ukrainian leader traveled to Washington to honor Graham, whose final act as a public official was and securing an agreement on a package of sanctions that seek to punish countries that purchase Russian oil, gas and other exports.
In a Fox News interview Tuesday, Trump recalled Graham’s hawkishness and said the South Carolina senator’s support for Ukraine never wavered. Trump said Graham had suggested it was time to make a deal with Iran but had no similar suggestion for .
鈥淯kraine, he’s very militant about,鈥� Trump said on 鈥淔ox & Friends.” “I mean, Lindsey liked war, to be honest with you.”
The Trump administration’s embrace of Zelenskyy also comes as Laura Loomer, a far-right activist with the U.S. president鈥檚 ear had a recent, widely publicized change of heart on Russia鈥檚 war against Ukraine.
Ukraine highlights ties between Iran and Russia
Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy also warned that Russia has been aiding Iran as the war persists by capturing satellite imagery of U.S. bases in the Gulf region that later appear in Iran. The Ukrainian president also asserted that there was a 鈥渃lear correlation鈥� between Russia鈥檚 images and subsequent Iranian strikes.
Iran is a key ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine and has helped Moscow build up its drone expertise.
But on Monday, Trump downplayed any impact of potential Russian assistance for Iran.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檝e been doing it, certainly not at a high level,鈥� Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he . 鈥淎nd if they have, it has been very un-impactful.鈥�
On the Caspian Sea attack, the foreign ministers of Iran and Ukraine spoke about the matter, according to statements posted on social media Tuesday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the conversation 鈥渇rank鈥� and said Ukraine鈥檚 focus is 鈥渟olely at defending our country from Russian aggression” and not on targeting civilians.
Iran has said at least one sailor was killed in the attack. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is also not seeking escalation but 鈥渕ade clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable.”
Pro-Ukraine backers pushing to advance sanctions bill
Zelenskyy had a busy itinerary during his latest visit to Washington. During his meeting at the Capitol, which was held just before a key and after Graham’s funeral, the Ukrainian leader argued that they have a window to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, according to one of the people with direct knowledge of the meeting.
In a bipartisan 86-12 vote, the Senate took the first steps toward passage of legislation to penalize countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports after more than a year of negotiations.
The bill has dozens of backers from both major political parties and is seen as the main policy tribute to Graham, who this month from a tear in his aorta. It imposes tariffs on goods from the world鈥檚 top five purchasers of Russia oil or natural gas, including China and India.
The legislation also includes sanctions against Putin; senior Russian political and military leaders; and Russian financial institutions and energy projects.
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