As the world watches with bated breath, a pivotal meeting is set to take place in Washington this Friday, October 17, 2025. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump are scheduled to sit down at the White House, with the fate of Ukraine’s war effort—and perhaps the broader balance of global power—hanging in the balance. The main topic on the table? The potential supply of US-made Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, a move that could dramatically alter the trajectory of the conflict with Russia.
According to The Independent, Zelensky announced the departure of his delegation to Washington, expressing gratitude for President Trump’s ongoing dialogue and support. “I will also have the opportunity to come to Washington and meet with President Trump on Friday. I believe we will discuss a series of steps that I intend to propose. I am grateful to President Trump for our dialogue and his support,” Zelensky stated. The Ukrainian leader made it clear that the primary focus of his visit would be air defence and long-range capabilities, both aimed at exerting pressure on Russia for the sake of peace.
For months, Zelensky has been lobbying Washington for advanced missile systems, particularly the Tomahawk—a weapon with a range of about 1,500 miles (2,500 kilometers), capable of striking deep within Russian territory, including Moscow. As The Telegraph reports, Zelensky has already provided Trump with a detailed assessment of how many Tomahawks Ukraine needs, underscoring the urgency and gravity of his request.
The stakes are high. On October 12 and 13, Russia’s defence ministry claimed its forces had seized control of Balahan, a village in Ukraine’s embattled Donetsk region. The Institute for the Study of War confirmed that Russian forces had conducted offensive operations near Pokrovsk and several surrounding areas, intensifying the pressure on Ukrainian positions. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s daily moment of remembrance endures: every morning at 9:00 AM, the nation pauses for a minute of silence to honor those killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion—a poignant reminder of the war’s human toll.
Recent days have brought fresh hardship. Zelensky, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), described a massive aerial attack by Russia on October 13: “Last night, Russia’s aerial terror against our cities and infrastructure continued once again. The main targets were our energy facilities. Ninety-six attack drones were launched, most were shot down, though unfortunately not all. Yesterday evening, Russia dropped aerial bombs on Kharkiv, striking a city hospital and injuring 57 people. An utterly terrorist, cynical attack on a place where lives are saved.” Energy infrastructure in the Kirovohrad, Sumy, and Donetsk regions was also hit, damaging railway facilities and enterprises. Zelensky’s plea to the world was direct: “Ukraine needs sufficient air defence capabilities to shield its skies from missiles, drones, and glide bombs so that Russia’s aerial terror becomes meaningless.”
Against this backdrop, Trump’s willingness to consider supplying Tomahawks marks a sharp escalation in US support. As reported by The Telegraph, Trump has threatened to deliver the missiles to Kyiv if Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to stymie peace talks. “I might say, look, if this war’s not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” Trump remarked on his flight to Israel earlier this week. “I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.”
Trump’s stance is a marked departure from that of his predecessor, Joe Biden, who had rebuffed Ukraine’s repeated requests for Tomahawk missiles. The shift comes as Trump, fresh from a high-profile visit to Tel Aviv and a summit in Egypt, claims to have brokered peace in the Middle East. During his speech to Israel’s parliament, Trump declared, “It would be great if we could make a peace deal with [Iran]... First, we have to get Russia done. Let’s focus on Russia first.”
The symbolism is not lost on Zelensky, who has publicly praised Trump’s role in the recent Israel-Hamas ceasefire. “We are working so that the day of peace comes for Ukraine as well. Russian aggression remains the last global source of destabilisation, and if a ceasefire and peace have been achieved for the Middle East, the leadership and determination of global actors can certainly work for us, too,” Zelensky wrote on social media. His prime minister and top aide arrived in Washington on Monday to begin high-level talks aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s defence, securing energy resilience, and intensifying sanctions pressure on Russia.
Yet the prospect of Tomahawks in Ukrainian hands has set off alarm bells in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the potential transfer as a matter of “extreme concern,” warning that tensions are escalating from all sides. Peskov emphasized that Russia would be unable to determine if the missiles carried nuclear warheads if launched toward its territory, raising the specter of miscalculation. “Just how should Russia react?” he asked pointedly. While Putin and his senior officials have refrained from directly criticizing Trump, perhaps hoping to sway him, the message from Moscow is clear: such a move would be seen as a “new step of aggression” and could sever diplomatic relations.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues to reverberate beyond the battlefield. The UN nuclear watchdog is urging Ukraine and Russia to agree to local ceasefires to restore external power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been operating on diesel generators since September 23. The plant, Europe’s largest, remains at risk of a catastrophic incident if reliable power is not restored, according to diplomats briefed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In a separate development, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has opened a new criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of creating a “terrorist organisation” and plotting to violently seize power. The move underscores the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on dissent, particularly against those who oppose the war in Ukraine.
As Zelensky and Trump prepare for their high-stakes meeting, the world is watching to see whether the promise of advanced US weaponry—and the threat of further escalation—will bring Putin to the negotiating table or push the conflict into even more dangerous territory. For Ukraine, the hope is that American support, coupled with international pressure, can finally tilt the balance toward peace. For the rest of the world, the outcome may well shape the contours of international security for years to come.