Trump called Putin before Zelensky’s visit to seek Tomahawk missiles

Donald Trump had a crucial phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday, a day before Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky met the US president to push for Tomahawk missiles.

“I’m talking to President Putin right now,” Trump said on his Truth Social network. “The discussion is ongoing, long, and I will report the content, as will President Putin, at the end of it.”

The call comes as Trump shows growing frustration with the Kremlin leader’s refusal to end the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 despite a recent summit in Alaska.

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Trump is now considering a request from Ukraine for US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) and could strike deep into Russia.

During Zelensky’s meeting with Trump at the White House on Friday “the main topic of discussion is Tomahawks,” a senior Ukrainian official told AFP on Thursday.

Trump had warned over the weekend that he would likely raise the issue first with Putin, who has warned that the procurement of the Tomahawks would be “a whole new level of escalation”.

“I might talk to him, say, ‘Look, if this war isn’t going to be settled, I’m going to send Tomahawks at them.’ I can say that,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to the Middle East.

“The Tomahawk is an incredible weapon, a very aggressive weapon, and frankly, Russia doesn’t need that.”

Trump added on Wednesday that the Ukrainians “want to be aggressive” and would discuss Kiev’s request for cruise missiles.

The US leader said he wants to step up pressure on Moscow for a peace deal following the ceasefire agreement brokered in Gaza between Israel and Hamas last week.

Meanwhile, relations between Trump and Zelensky have heated up since February, when they sparred during a now-infamous televised White House meeting in which the US leader told his Ukrainian counterpart: “You don’t have the papers.”

The senior Ukrainian source said the tone of rhetoric between the White House and Kiev is now “very businesslike” and that Washington understands that pressure on Russia “will work to end it all.”

The Tomahawks would be an important addition to Ukraine’s arsenal, bolstering Kiev’s long-range strike capabilities with a missile that can fly just above the ground at near-supersonic speed to avoid radar.

The United States has used Tomahawks for more than 40 years and in some of the country’s most high-profile conflicts, from the 1991 Gulf War to this year’s US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.

Previously Tomahawks were mainly launched from sea-based launchers such as warships or submarines, but the Ukrainian source told AFP that: “There is a technical solution for the launch platform.”

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Senior Ukrainian officials visiting Washington this week met with representatives of US arms manufacturers, including Raytheon, which makes Tomahawk missiles.

Zelensky will also meet with arms manufacturers to discuss when deliveries could begin “but they need a political message,” the Ukrainian source added.

As the war enters its fourth year, Russia has launched new attacks on energy facilities in eastern Ukraine, repeating a pattern of targeting Kiev’s power grid that it has followed every winter.

Energy has been a key factor throughout the war, with Trump saying on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him that New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil.

But Putin said on Thursday that his country was still among the world’s top oil producers, despite “unfair” anti-competitive practices being used against it.

China, a major buyer of Russian oil, meanwhile rejected “unilateral bullying” by Washington.