Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the "Russians are afraid of Tomahawks" as a combination of weapon systems that Ukraine could receive from the United States.

Source: Zelenskyy at a briefing following his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House

Details: When asked what Russian leader Vladimir Putin expects from his meeting with US President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy noted that the "Russians are afraid of Tomahawks".

Quote: "I think that the Russians are afraid of Tomahawks. Because it's a strong weapon. And they know what we have, what kind of weapon we have, our production, and they understand the combination with Tomahawks... We don't speak about Tomahawks like Tomahawks. We need a combination. That's why they are afraid of this combination. They understand what we can do.

That's why they do a lot of different steps and [send] a lot of very positive messages not to our side, of course. That's what they do, because they are afraid of it."

Details: Zelenskyy also said (laughing) in response to a question about whether he was "more or less optimistic" about receiving Tomahawks: "I am realistic."

Previously: Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian and American sides had decided not to speak publicly about long-range systems for now, adding that the United States does not want escalation.

Background:

• On 17 October, a bilateral meeting in the format of an official lunch was held at the White House between Zelenskyy and Trump.
• It was earlier reported that one of the key topics of the conversation between the two leaders would be the possible provision of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
• Following his conversation with Putin on Thursday, Trump said that the Russian ruler "didn't like" the idea of Tomahawk missiles being supplied to Ukraine.
• Before the lunch, Zelenskyy said he would propose to the US president a deal to receive Tomahawk cruise missiles in exchange for Ukrainian drones.
• An Ukrainska Pravda source reported that the Ukrainian delegation presented their US counterparts with a map highlighting the "pain points" of Russia's defence industry and military economy during the bilateral lunch in Washington on 17 October.

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