Zelensky visits Washington to seek long-range weapons, meeting with Trump – National

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky He said Monday he would travel to the United States this week for talks about potentially supplying the United States with long-range weapons, a day after US President Donald Trump. Russia warned It may send Kyiv long range Tomahawk missiles

Meeting between Zelensky and Trump The Ukrainian president said the meeting could take place on Friday, adding that he would also meet with defense and energy companies and members of Congress.

“The main topics will be air defense and our long-range capabilities to maintain pressure on Russia,” Zelensky said.

This came during his meeting with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas. He said he would also seek more U.S. assistance to protect Ukraine’s electricity and gas grids, which it has faced Continuous Russian bombing. The visit to the United States follows what Zelensky described as a “very productive” phone call with Trump on Sunday. Trump later warned Russia that he could send Ukraine far reaching Tomahawk missiles If Moscow does not resolve its war there soon. The missiles would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory.

Moscow expressed “grave concern” about the possibility of the United States supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin himself had previously indicated that the United States supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles would seriously harm relations between Moscow and Washington.

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Zelensky will join the Ukrainian delegation already in the United States for preliminary talks led by Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko. Russia has intensified its attacks in recent weeks targeting electricity and gas infrastructure ahead of the winter, in an attempt to paralyze Ukraine’s electricity grid before temperatures drop, eroding public morale. Ukraine’s state emergency service said the worst attacks early Monday using drones and missiles occurred around the Black Sea port of Odessa and in the northern Chernihiv region, where one person was killed.

Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, pledged to maintain pressure on Moscow. She also expressed confidence that Hungarian-led objections to a new sanctions package on Russia will be overcome, even if the process continues beyond the EU leaders’ meeting next week. “In terms of financing, the needs are enormous,” Kalas said. “We have to help Ukraine defend itself so that we do not spend more later on repairing the damaged infrastructure.” “We are 27 member states, 27 democracies, so discussions take time… I am sure that, as before, we will reach a decision.”

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