President Donald Trump is slated to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House this Friday. The agenda is focused on substantial defense measures and strategies to enhance Ukraine’s ability to counteract Russian aggression.
This strategic meeting, which was announced earlier this week, follows closely on the heels of a phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The timing underscores the delicate balance of international relations amid ongoing tensions.
President Zelenskyy has been vocal about his primary objective: securing advanced defense capabilities for Ukraine. As his nation continues to endure relentless aerial assaults targeting civilian areas, energy grids, and hospitals, Zelenskyy has expressed interest in acquiring American Tomahawk missiles.
The Ukrainian leader’s intention to obtain these sophisticated long-range cruise missiles is driven by their potential to significantly enhance Ukraine’s military reach. With the Tomahawks, Ukraine could target strategic locations further into Russian territory, including military facilities and the oil industry, which plays a pivotal role in financing President Putin’s military endeavors.
However, John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia Program, cautions against overestimating the impact of a single weapon system. He remarked to Fox News Digital that no weapon could serve as a decisive “game changer” in the complex dynamics of warfare.
But one security expert warned that “no one weapon system is going to be a wonder weapon or a game changer, per se,” John Hardie, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD) Russia Program told Fox News Digital.
Hardie said that countering Russia’s war must be done through a series of tactics which includes increased missile capability for Ukraine, but also by targeting Russia’s war chest by undermining its economy through sanctions, hitting its oil industry and crippling its defense complex.
Thirdly, Ukraine must be better equipped in its war effort on the front lines.
“Putin still seems to believe, or chooses to believe, that he can grind down Ukrainian forces in this war of attrition, and that eventually that will give him a pathway to accomplishing some of his goals,” Hardie said. “He’s going to have to be disabused of that.
“The goal should be to exhaust the Russian military’s offensive potential,” he added.
Hardie also pointed out that while big ticket items like Tomahawks would be useful for Ukraine given its long-range and heavy payload capabilities, there are items that Kyiv could more efficiently employ for its daily needs.
Apartment buildings are damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine Oct. 13, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS )
“We kind of fixate on that one system, but there are a broad range of things that the United States can do to enhance Ukrainian long-range precision strike capabilities,” he said.
Systems like the Extended-Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles, which are a more affordable long-range cruise missile specifically designed by the U.S. for Ukraine, have been slated to arrive beginning in October.
Hardie also pointed to defensive systems which are useful and needed to better protect against Russia’s constant missile and drone attacks, like Patriot battery systems.
Following his call with Putin on Thursday, Trump said “great progress” was made, but he did not provide any specifics on how progress was achieved, though the pair agreed to once again meet in person, this time in Hungary.
President Donald Trump greets Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. On Friday, Putin praised Trump’s peacemaking efforts despite him not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press)
Though Trump said the pair discussed U.S.-Russia trade, he did not say whether U.S. aid to Ukraine was discussed, which appeared to be the impetus for the call earlier this week when he told reporters he “might have to speak” with Putin regarding whether he wanted U.S. Tomahawks near his borders, in what appeared to be an implied threat.
But neither Tomahawks nor defensive aid were mentioned in the president’s account of the talks.
Though, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the issue was discussed and opposed by Putin.
“Vladimir Putin reiterated his thesis that Tomahawks won’t change the situation on the battlefield, but they will cause significant damage to relations between our countries. Not to mention the prospects for a peaceful settlement,” he told reporters following the call, according to Reuters.
