Ukrainian officials meet with US arms manufacturers ahead of Trump-Zelensky talks

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian government delegation met with prominent U.S. arms manufacturers during a visit to the United States, a senior official in Kyiv said Wednesday, ahead of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at the White House later this week.

Yermak wrote in a post on Telegram that a delegation led by the Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak and Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko met with representatives of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

Read more: Trump says he may send Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles if Russia continues the conflict

Yermak did not reveal what was discussed during the talks, but he said that his country’s cooperation with the two companies “continues to grow” as Ukraine looks for more assistance in resisting Russia’s all-out war, which began on February 24, 2022.

Mykhailo Podoliak, a senior adviser to Yermak, posted on the X website that Ukraine is seeking to obtain cruise missiles, air defense systems and joint agreements for the production of drones from the United States.

Raytheon produces the Patriot air defense systems, which have been vital to Ukrainian efforts to counter Russian long-range strikes, and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Officials in Kiev are keen to obtain Tomahawk missiles, which could allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, with precision and with large warheads.

Lockheed Martin also manufactures a wide range of advanced weapons systems that could assist Ukraine.

The United States is pressing for peace

While Zelensky is widely expected to seek Trump’s Oval Office approval to purchase Tomahawk missiles, Washington has hesitated about such a move out of concern that it could escalate the war and deepen tensions between the United States and Russia.

However, Trump on Sunday warned Russia that he may send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Moscow does not end its war there soon — and may use the threat to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a settlement.

“If this war does not end, and if there is no path to peace in the short term, the United States, along with our allies, will take the necessary steps to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Western Ukraine supporters gathered at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“If we have to take this step, the US War Department is prepared to do its part in ways that only the United States can do,” he said.

Read more: Officials say Russian strike caused severe damage to Ukrainian power plant as winter approaches

Putin said the Tomahawk missiles would not change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in published comments on Sunday that the Tomahawk missile issue “causes serious concern” for Moscow.

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels discussed how to maintain the momentum of arms supplies to Ukraine, after European military aid to Kiev fell sharply in the summer. European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help Kyiv repel Russian forces.

Projects for US metal deals are taking shape

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Sverydenko said she met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent on Tuesday, as the two countries finalized the US-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund, part of an agreement that would give America access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources.

Sverdenko said the fund was “several important decisions away” from starting work.

She added that the first potential projects set to receive investments in the minerals, energy and critical infrastructure sectors are beginning to take shape.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have continued their near-daily attacks on each other’s energy assets, as Ukraine attempts to reduce Russian fuel supplies and oil revenues, and Russia seeks to cripple the Ukrainian electricity grid before winter.

Ukrainian armed forces launched an overnight raid on an oil terminal in Feodosia in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, according to a post on Telegram by the General Staff on Wednesday. She added that the station represents an important logistical link that supplies Russian forces with fuel.

She added that the attack damaged 16 fuel tanks that were still intact after Ukrainian forces struck the station last week, causing a fire.

Meanwhile, Naftogaz Group, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company, said on Wednesday that Russia had bombed one of its thermal power plants overnight, the latest in a series of major attacks on natural gas facilities and the company’s infrastructure.

At least two Ukrainian regions reported power outages.

Lorne Cook contributed to this report from Brussels.