POLITICO: Ukraine’s US agenda derailed by poor timing, lofty expectations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington last week hoping to leverage his increasingly cordial relationship with US President Donald Trump to secure a supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles — a weapon Kyiv regards as potentially game‑changing in its war effort against Russia. Fresh from brokering a cease‑fire in Gaza, Trump appeared to be in a strong position to back Ukraine’s push for decisive leverage, POLITICO reports.

The meeting in the White House was described as perfectly cordial — “no frostiness, and no return to the nastiness of last February’s now‑infamous Oval Office brawl,” as one US Republican foreign‑policy insider put it. Nonetheless, the visit was ultimately underwhelming. The source added: “It wasn’t a bad meeting, just a victim of poor timing and inflated expectations.” They noted that the Ukrainian side could have pressed more effectively had they adjusted their agenda following Trump’s lengthy telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day.

During that call, Trump told reporters: “I did actually say, would you mind if I gave a couple of thousand Tomahawks to your opposition? I did say that.” And he added, “He didn’t like the idea.” Shortly thereafter, Trump announced he would meet Putin in Budapest, again appearing to shift toward peace diplomacy rather than immediate escalation — meaning there was “no way Trump was going to agree to Tomahawk acquisitions ahead of his meeting with Putin in Budapest,” the insider said.

Zelenskyy, for his part, remains unconvinced that Putin is serious about ending the war.

“I do not believe that Putin is ready just to finish this war,” he said.

Yet Ukraine ignored advice from its Republican allies in Washington — many of whom were skeptical that Trump would approve Tomahawks, given the risks of escalation and US supply constraints. Trump himself noted: “We need Tomahawks for the United States of America too … we can’t deplete our country.”

By maintaining missile‑delivery as the centerpiece of its agenda, Ukraine missed the opportunity to press less‑controversial requests — such as air‑to‑air missiles for its F‑16 and MiG fleets, or surface‑to‑air interceptors for Patriot systems — both urgently needed to defend against Russia’s escalating drone and missile strikes.

Additionally, the Tomahawk fixation distracted from key energy and economic initiatives: Ukraine’s push for US LNG imports ahead of a harsh winter, and a proposed mechanism to use frozen Russian sovereign assets to fund Ukrainian defence efforts. These items stalled amid the lobbying push, which sent ministers including Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Chief‑of‑Staff Andriy Yermak to Washington – and yet “nothing really concrete was agreed during the entire week,” according to another republican adviser.

As one official observed: “We had urged them to delay… Zelenskyy’s offer of exchanging Ukrainian drone‑technology for Tomahawks was far too premature.” Indeed, Ukrainian officials and troops returning home voiced disappointment, particularly as Moscow dramatically stepped up energy‑ and infrastructure‑targeted attacks over the weekend. And as Ukraine braces for winter, one Republican insider warned: “There’s a real danger … Ukraine is headed for an energy catastrophe if the Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure persist.”

In short, the Washington visit was cordial but mis‑timed — and Ukraine may now need to recalibrate its strategy and broader asks if it hopes to convert diplomatic goodwill into tangible military and economic support.

By Vafa Guliyeva