President Donald Trump is speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump confirmed his call with the Russian leader on Thursday, reportedly to discuss the prospect of sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine so the beleaguered nation can begin responding to Moscow’s invasion with long-range strikes.
“I am speaking to President Putin now,” Trump wrote Thursday morning. “The conversation is ongoing, a lengthy one, and I will report the contents, as will President Putin, at its conclusion. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump will be meeting with Zelensky on Friday in Washington, where the Ukrainian president hopes to secure those missiles and other tools of war he believes can make the invasion too costly for Russia to continue.
Trump has maintained a strategic ambiguity on whether he is willing to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made Tomahawks, but he recently hinted at the phone call in comments to reporters.
“I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks,” the U.S. president said on Sunday. “Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so. I might say [to Putin], ‘Look, if this war is not going to get settled, I may send them Tomahawks.’”
The deployment of Tomahawk missiles requires technology and military infrastructure that the war-ravaged nation lacks, meaning successful launches would likely require direct U.S. assistance — a serious escalation of the nation’s involvement in the conflict.
Andrey Kartapolov, head of the defense committee in the Russian Parliament, said last week that the Russian military intends to shoot down any Tomahawk cruise missiles the United States sends to Ukraine.
“We will find ways to hurt those who cause us trouble,” Kartapolov warned. “If Ukraine were to prepare launch sites, we would detect them and use drones and missiles to destroy any launchers.”
He added that he hopes “those who are pushing Washington toward such decisions fully understand the gravity and depth of the potential consequences.”
Putin himself has warned that the provision of long-range weapons and assistance in using them would be viewed as the U.S. crossing a red line and actively participating in the war, calling the hypothetical scenario a “completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation.”
The Russian president has asserted that such a decision would be a death blow to any shred of positive relations with the U.S.
Zelensky, meanwhile, has arranged for the Ukrainian diplomatic envoy to meet with weapons manufacturers and defense companies while in the U.S. this week.
“I will meet with these companies because there are pressing needs linked to various formats of attacks, not even the attacks that Russia has already carried out,” the Ukrainian leader said.
HEGSETH PLEDGES ‘MORE FIREPOWER’ FOR UKRAINE BUT HOLDS OFF TOMAHAWK COMMITMENTS
“In any case, we must be prepared,” he added. “So, it will be helpful. Therefore, the main focus of the visit is air defense and our long-range capabilities aimed at exerting pressure on Russia for the sake of peace.”
Zelensky has thanked Trump repeatedly for his “dialogue” and “support.”
Naomi Lim contributed to this reporting.