Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that during his meeting with US President Donald Trump, the American leader did not say "no" to the possibility of supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles, but did not say "yes" either.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with NBC News, recorded shortly after his meeting with Trump and set to air on Sunday 19 October

Quote: "It's good that President Trump didn't say 'no,' but for today, didn't say 'yes.'"

Details: Zelenskyy said he hopes to continue the dialogue on the supply of long-range missiles.

Quote: "We use thousands of long-range drones of Ukrainian production on military goals. But Russia uses not only drones of Iranian production and also of their [domestic] production… but also they use their long-range missiles of Russian production and of North Korea production. It is very difficult just to operate with only Ukrainian drones. We need long-range Tomahawks, and the United States have similar things that we need for a mixed use [combined attacks – ed.] like Russia [does]."

More details: Zelenskyy added that Ukrainian troops armed with Tomahawk long-range missiles would pose a real threat to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Quote: "I think Putin is afraid that the United States will deliver us Tomahawks. And I think he is afraid that we will use them."

More details: NBC News noted that returning to Ukraine without a deal on Tomahawk missiles will likely "spur Zelenskyy's critics to ask why he came to the US at all".

Background:

• On 17 October, Zelenskyy travelled to the White House at Trump's invitation, following two consecutive phone calls between them. The meeting was intended to discuss highly sensitive issues.
• A member of the Ukrainian delegation said that Zelenskyy arrived with a map highlighting weak points in Russia's defence industry and economy.
• Zelenskyy stated that he planned to offer Trump a deal to obtain Tomahawk cruise missiles in exchange for Ukrainian drone technology.
• CNN has reported that Trump made it clear during the meeting that he was not currently considering supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles.

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