President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to push for Patriot interceptors and diplomacy, even as the administration, according to Kyiv Post, has told Congress it will not finish spending $400 million in already-approved Ukraine aid until fiscal year 2029. Zelenskyy called the sit-down “good,” saying the two discussed licenses for domestic Patriot production, a sharp contrast to the February 2025 Oval Office clash in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused him of ingratitude on live television.
After leaving the White House, Zelenskyy met with Lockheed Martin executives, Ukrinform reported, to discuss joint production of Patriot components and broader defense technology sharing as Kyiv works to expand its own missile-manufacturing capacity.
The Wall Street Journal reported, per NV.ua, that Trump has grown noticeably more optimistic about Ukraine and Zelenskyy in recent months, citing the country’s battlefield resilience and drone industry, while privately souring on Vladimir Putin after more than a year of telling advisers that Kyiv was losing the war.
Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are now in talks to make their first visit to Kyiv as part of a renewed push to end the war, The Hill reported, with a stop in Moscow expected to follow.
The Senate held its first procedural vote Tuesday evening on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, ABC News reported, which would impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas. The key question now is how many Senate Democrats back it.
