Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded that President Donald Trump follow up on his recent sanctions against Russia by providing Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.
Speaking with Axios on Sunday for a phone interview, Zelenskyy acknowledged that Trump’s sanctions will hurt Russia but maintained that more is needed to put Russian President Vladimir Putin in check.
“President Trump is concerned about escalation, but I think that if there are no negotiations, there will be an escalation anyway,” he said. “I think that if Putin doesn’t stop, we need something to stop him. Sanctions is one such weapon, but we also need long-range missiles.”
The request came roughly a week after Trump and Zelenskyy butted heads during what Axios described as a “tense meeting” on Oct. 17.
Trump and Zelensky discussing potential Tomahawks for drones exchange.
Trump quickly changes the subject to how strong US jets are and how they defended Israel. pic.twitter.com/dcAffilGRA
— ayden (@squatsons) October 17, 2025
“Nobody shouted, but Trump was tough,” a source told Axios about the Oct. 17 meeting.
“Zelenskyy had gone to the White House hoping to convince Trump to agree to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles for its fight against the Russian invasion, but left unhappy with the summit’s outcome,” Politico reported, citing another source.
The Ukrainian president told Axios on Sunday that he believes Trump wanted at the time to avoid any potential escalation.
Should Trump give Ukraine Tomahawks?
“My talks with President Trump were about pressure on Russia,” he said. “I think he wanted to pressure them, but he didn’t want to make an escalation or close the window… for diplomacy.”
He reiterated, as he’d done days earlier, that he’d accept a prior proposal from Trump to freeze the front lines as the basis for the beginning of negotiations.
‘Good compromise’ – Zelensky backs Trump’s call to ‘stay where we are’ after US pres calls for frozen frontline pic.twitter.com/HilwtyHeCA
— Viory Video (@vioryvideo) October 22, 2025
“I think that we understood each other,” Zelenskyy told Axios. “President Trump said we have to freeze the current situation and speak.”
However, Trump’s interest in the proposal disappeared last week after a call between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart fell apart because of Putin’s refusal to back down even an inch.
“As far as I know, the conversation between Rubio and Lavrov was not positive,” Zelenskyy told Axios. “They did the same after Alaska. This is the third or fourth time when Putin and his people reject what Trump says.”
Putin’s apparent refusal to compromise led to Trump imposing sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies.
Zelenskyy for his part said he hopes “new secondary sanctions” will be imposed, and that Congress will follow up with “parallel steps.”
The Ukrainian president also stressed that he still staunchly believes that the only way to force Putin’s hand is for Ukraine to target deep in Russia — particularly energy facilities — using the Tomahawk missiles.
He also said that he wouldn’t need to use the missiles immediately, because Putin will simply be aware that Zelenskyy possessing them poses a threat to “Russia’s energy facilities.”
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