Trump and Zelenskyy on 17 October. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine and Europe are forming a joint position to address the United States in various formats regarding the potential supply of Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Source: Zelenskyy at the meeting with journalists, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine and European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy said that US President Donald Trump is not transferring Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine because he wants to avoid escalation with Russia before meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

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According to Zelenskyy, the issue of long-range missiles prompted Putin to call Trump.

He emphasised that Ukraine is maintaining constant communication with European leaders who want to make a request to Trump regarding Tomahawk missiles, since European countries also have them.

Quote: “First of all, I would like to say that European countries also have Tomahawks. The issue is not just about Tomahawks as such. The question is about how weapons are used. You can have ATACMS, but how can you use them? The question is not only what kind of weapons you have, but how you can use them.”

More details: The Ukrainian leader noted that the use of these missiles would target military facilities and be coordinated with partners.

“We talked with European leaders immediately after the meeting with President Trump. They themselves want to make an appeal to him,” he stressed.

Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukraine is in constant contact with national security advisers of European countries and is building a common position with them.

He added that they would continue to appeal to the United States on this issue in various formats.

Background:

• On 17 October, Zelenskyy travelled to the White House to meet Trump following two consecutive phone conversations. The meeting was planned to discuss highly sensitive issues, including the possible supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

• On the eve of the meeting, Trump called Vladimir Putin, after which he said that Putin “did not like” the idea of supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine and added that secondary sanctions against buyers of Russian energy resources were probably not timely.

• Later, the media outlets eported that during a closed conversation with the Ukrainian president, Trump made it clear that he was not yet considering providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

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