"Patriot and Russia".. Zelenskyy seeks to resolve the most important files with Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump discussed with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday efforts to revive peace talks with Russia and the issue of allowing Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptor missiles.

Zelenskyy held a private meeting with Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, without journalists, before an afternoon memorial service for the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

Zelenskyy also held talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb at a hotel in Washington and met with members of the U.S. Senate at the Capitol building, according to Reuters.

This quick visit provided an opportunity for Zelenskyy to bolster military support at a time when U.S.-Ukraine relations are warmer than they have been in months. But Washington is still withholding aid for Ukraine, which with Graham's death lost one of its most influential defenders in Washington.

Zelenskyy told reporters that during his meetings with Trump and Senate members he stressed Ukraine's need for systems and missiles to intercept ballistic missiles, while welcoming new U.S. legislation that moves forward with imposing broad sanctions on Russia's energy sector.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine has drones capable of destroying Iranian and Russian-made drones, but needs more weapons to counter the ballistic missiles launched by Moscow.

He said after a meeting with Senate members at the Capitol: "The real problem is anti-ballistic missile systems and anti-ballistic missile missiles. And of course, I presented what we need."

Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that he held a "good meeting" with Trump, during which they discussed what the U.S. president promised at the NATO summit this month regarding granting Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles locally.

New licenses

At a time when Russia has escalated its air attacks, Ukraine's supply of Patriot missiles, the only ones capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, has drastically diminished.

Zelenskyy later told Fox News that Trump "agreed to grant us licenses" to produce the interceptor missiles.

He continued: "We also talked about diplomacy, it is important to intensify the diplomatic process," referring to stalled talks with Russia to end the war, now in its fifth year.

Two sources familiar with the talks said that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, agreed to visit Ukraine for the first time as part of efforts to resume their mediation with Russia.

The two visited Russia and met Russian President Vladimir Putin several times since Trump returned to power in January 2025.

Last week, Zelenskyy said he spoke with them about the possibility of resuming talks, but one source said no date for the visit has been set.

In a separate context, Zelenskyy stated that he met with officials from Lockheed Martin, the world's largest weapons company and one of the producers of Patriot interceptor missiles.

The Ukrainian president added that working groups are already developing solutions "to transition to joint production as quickly as possible."

Improved relations

The Ukrainian leader spoke for about an hour with U.S. Senate members after Graham's funeral, before entering the Senate chamber to follow an important vote on a new bipartisan sanctions package against Russia. Graham was a prominent supporter of this measure, and Trump announced his support for it days before his death.

Zelenskyy said, "Sanctions pressure on Russia is very important," adding that the legislation will tighten Russia's ability to finance the war and send a signal of U.S. support for the Ukrainian people.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters: "With this vote, we will show Putin that he cannot bully Ukraine. The United States stands with Ukraine... We will support Ukraine, and it will win and defeat Putin."

The visit comes as a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, to lawmakers revealed that the Trump administration has informed Congress that it will not finish spending $400 million approved in aid for Ukraine until fiscal year 2029.

Democrats and some of Trump's fellow Republicans criticized the Pentagon for delaying the delivery of aid that members of both parties approved last year for Ukraine.

Relations between Zelenskyy and Trump saw frequent clashes at the start of the U.S. president's second term, but have improved in the past few months as Ukraine achieved greater successes in the war, including intensified attacks on Russia's oil sector.

Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, died suddenly from a health complication on July 11 at age 71. He was one of Trump's most prominent allies and a hawk advocating an interventionist U.S. role on the world stage, and was a strong supporter of Ukraine.

Graham met Zelenskyy in Kyiv just one day before his death, on his tenth visit to Ukraine since the Russian war in 2022.