Zelenskyy holds out hope Trump will still provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sounded a reassuring tone during a trip to the United States on Friday, although he did not reach a deal with President Donald Trump for long-range Tomahawk missiles, a weapon that could be a game-changer in the war against Russia.

“It's good that President Trump hasn't said no, but to date he hasn't said yes,” Zelensky told NBC News “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview that will air Sunday.

Zelensky's call for a Tomahawk missile launch came as Russia targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure with drones and missiles last week, causing power outages across the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently warned that the supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would be a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.”

Zelensky told NBC News that the Ukrainian military, equipped with Tomahawk missiles, is a genuine concern for Putin.

“I think Putin [is] We are afraid that the United States will supply us with Tomahawks. And I think he [is] I’m very afraid that we will use them,” he said.

Still, returning to Ukraine without an agreement on Tomahawk missiles will likely prompt Zelensky's critics to question why he came to the United States in the first place.

To some extent, Trump appeared to limit expectations for the Tomahawk missile agreement on Friday. when he met with Zelensky at the White House. Zelensky spoke with NBC News shortly after the visit.

Trump had a phone call with Putin on Thursday and said on Truth Social that he will meet with the Russian President in Budapest, Hungary, for a second round of face-to-face talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump said his conversation with Putin was “very productive” and that he thought “great progress was made on today's call.”

At their last meeting, in Alaska in August, Trump gave Putin a grand welcome, giving him a red carpet treatment, a jet flyover and a ride in the armored presidential limousine known as “The Beast,” raising hopes that the conflict might finally be coming to an end.

But Trump was unable to pressure Putin to agree to a ceasefire or a one-on-one meeting with Zelensky.

The animosity between the two presidents is a serious obstacle, Trump said at a news conference with Zelensky on Friday.

“They have tremendous animosity. That's what I think is holding back a settlement,” he said, adding: “I think we're going to get this done, and we have to make it lasting.”

Trump's recent success in brokering a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as well as a hostage-prisoner exchange between the two sides, also appears to have made the president optimistic about the chances of resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“The war in the Middle East was much more difficult. We ended it, and I think we have a good chance. I think President Zelensky wants it done, and I think President Putin wants it done,” he said at a meeting with the press on Friday.