Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described his White House meeting with US President Donald Trump as “good” and productive, as the two leaders discussed joint production of Patriot missile interceptors in Ukraine and efforts to revive stalled peace negotiations with Russia.
The meeting, which lasted just over an hour in the Oval Office on Tuesday, marks the latest sign that the once-frosty relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has significantly improved in recent months. It caps a series of high-level encounters between the two leaders, following meetings at the NATO summit in Ankara and the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains.
“We talked with the president about licences to produce Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram after the meeting. Trump had agreed earlier this month to allow Ukraine to jointly manufacture the air defense systems, a crucial component of the country’s defenses against Russian aerial bombardment.
The talks also focused on reviving diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia, now grinding through its fifth year. Peace negotiations have stalled as Washington has shifted attention to other foreign policy priorities, including military operations in the Middle East.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described both the Zelenskyy meeting and a separate encounter between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the same day as “positive and productive.”
After the White House meeting, Zelenskyy attended a service honoring the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime champion of Ukraine aid who had pushed for tougher sanctions on Russia. Graham announced Trump’s support for a new sanctions package just days before his death.
Zelenskyy then spoke for nearly an hour with US senators before entering the Senate chamber to witness a key vote on the bipartisan sanctions package. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters: “With this vote, we are going to show Putin he can’t bully Ukraine. America stands behind Ukraine.”
Kyiv and Washington are also moving closer to a deal on joint drone production, according to officials familiar with the discussions. The partnership could help the United States catch up with Ukraine in a critical military technology domain. Ukraine is on track to produce six to seven million short-range attack drones this year, while the Pentagon’s $1.1 billion “Drone Dominance” production program is expected to have ordered nearly 200,000 drones by February 2027.
The improved relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy stands in stark contrast to a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office in early 2025, during which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated the Ukrainian leader for not being sufficiently grateful for US support. Since then, the Trump administration has sharply curtailed new military assistance to Ukraine, leaving European allies as Kyiv’s main source of financial and military support.
Despite the reduction in aid, the US has continued to serve as a mediator in the conflict. Trump and Zelenskyy have reaffirmed their support for closer cooperation at each of their recent meetings, though concrete deliverables have been slow to materialize.
The White House meeting came on the same day that Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha was in contact with his Iranian counterpart over a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, highlighting the complex interlocking conflicts that both Ukraine and Washington must navigate.