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Trump and Zelenskyy Discuss Tomahawks, Budapest Talks, and Russia–Alaska Tunnel Proposal at White House
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A new high-level meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place at the White House, focused on finding a path toward peace and ensuring Ukraine’s future security ahead of Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
On October 17, US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House for talks centered on Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Budapest, and the US interest in Ukrainian drones.
Trump began the meeting by praising Zelenskyy’s resilience and leadership amid nearly four years of war.
“A very strong leader, a man who has been through a lot,” Trump said. “We had a big call yesterday with Putin, and we’ll be talking about it… President Zelenskyy has endured a lot. And we’ve endured it with him, to be honest.”
Upcoming meeting with Putin
Speaking to reporters, Trump confirmed that his planned Budapest meeting with Putin would be bilateral.
“It’s going to be a double meeting,” the US president said. “But we will have President Zelenskyy in touch.”
Zelenskyy said he believes the current momentum could help move the war closer to resolution.
“I think this is the momentum to finish Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he said. “I understand that Putin is not ready—not really—but I’m confident that with your help, we can stop this war. And we really need it.”
Security guarantees and Tomahawks requests
Zelenskyy emphasized that security guarantees remain Kyiv’s top priority.
“For people in Ukraine, who are under attacks every day, strong security guarantees are the most important,” Zelenskyy said. “NATO is the best, but weapons and allies on our side are very important. We want peace. Putin doesn’t want it. That’s why we need pressure on him.”
He also proposed a potential exchange of Ukrainian drones for US Tomahawk missiles.
“Ukraine has thousands of our production drones, but we don’t have Tomahawks,” Zelenskyy said.
When asked if he would consider such a deal, Trump said yes. He noted that transferring the missiles to Kyiv would represent “an escalation,” but added that he and Zelenskyy would continue the discussion.
Humanitarian and diplomatic focus
Trump said First Lady Melania Trump had encouraged him to prioritize reuniting Ukrainian children with their families.
“She felt very strongly about the children,” Trump said. “She thinks about the children all the time.”
Trump also said he plans to raise Ukraine during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
“I’ll be discussing that, but I’d love to see it ended before that,” he said.
Energy and reconstruction cooperation
Zelenskyy highlighted ongoing cooperation with American energy and defense companies, saying they are ready to help Ukraine rebuild after recent Russian strikes.
“I had a good opportunity to meet with big American energy companies, and they’re ready to help us,” he said. “After all these Russian attacks on our infrastructure, we also had meetings with good military companies—we spoke about air defense.”
Russia’s Putin-Trump tunnel idea
An unexpected moment during the meeting came when the two leaders discussed a new Russian proposal to construct a tunnel between Russia and Alaska through the Bering Strait.
“This came up yesterday—a tunnel from Russia to Alaska. That’s interesting,” Trump said. “I’m not happy with this,” Zelenskyy replied. “I don’t think you’re gonna like it,” Trump added.
When asked whether Putin’s outreach could be an attempt to delay or 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.”
Following the open session, the two presidents continued their discussions behind closed doors.
Earlier, Trump stated that the US has “a lot of Tomahawks” and warned that Russia’s economy is “going to collapse.”
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