Zelenskyy to Meet Trump in Washington October 17 to Push for Stronger Air Defense, Long-Range Capabilities

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he plans to travel to Washington for a on October 17 for a meeting meeting with US President Donald Trump, framing the visit around boosting Ukraine’s air defenses and long-range strike capabilities.

Reuters reported the announcement was made in Kyiv on October 13, with Zelenskyy noting he had already outlined to Trump his vision for the number of Tomahawk missiles Ukraine needs. 

In a message on his official channels, Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian delegation is already en route to the US. “The Ukrainian team has already set off for the United States: Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Head of the Office Andrii Yermak, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov and individual representatives of the diplomatic corps.“

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He added: “I think we will discuss the sequence of the steps I want to suggest. I am grateful to President Trump for our dialogue and support.” 

Zelenskyy said the trip will also include talks with US defense manufacturers and potential meetings with senators and members of Congress, as well as meetings with energy companies “to prepare” for further attacks on Ukraine’s energy system.

“This is necessary—this was a suggestion from President Trump—and I will meet with companies, because now there are needs resulting from attacks of different formats… We need to prepare in any case,” he said on his official Telegram channel.

“The main themes for the visit will be air defenses and our long-range capabilities to put pressure on Russia for the sake of peace.” 

Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington for a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump, followed by multilateral talks with European leaders at the White House.

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