Trump to host Zelenskyy at the White House with long-range missiles topping the agenda

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday.

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, with long-range Tomahawk missiles and the trajectory of the war with Russia on the agenda as Kyiv intensifies its push for U.S. military aid.

The sit-down follows Trump’s phone call Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which Moscow warned that a U.S. decision to provide long-range Tomahawks to Kyiv would sharply escalate tensions. The missiles, which could be used to strike deep into Russia, would signal a “qualitatively new stage of escalation,” the Kremlin said.

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Trump has not announced a decision on the weapons, but adding to the speculation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised that more “firepower” was coming for Ukraine ahead of a NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels this week. It is not clear whether the Tomahawks were part of that.

Zelenskyy arrives in Washington after a night of punishing strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, underscoring the push for more air defenses and long-range capabilities to pressure Russia to end the war.