Germany Before meeting with Trump: Selensky receives new arms pledges
Shortly before his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has received promises of even more arms aid from European allies.
16.10.2025, 05:31
SDA
This was announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his British counterpart John Healey at the meeting of NATO heads of department in Brussels. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth increased the pressure on the Kremlin and threatened to make the war really expensive for Russia. Russia continued to attack targets in Ukraine during the night.
On Friday, Zelenskyi wants to receive approval from Trump at the White House for the sale of Tomahawk cruise missiles to his country, which have a range of around 2,500 kilometers. The deal could be financed by NATO partners.
The Kremlin warned the US government emphatically against such a delivery. Russia's former President and Security Council Vice-Chairman Dmitry Medvedev even hinted at a possible counter-reaction with nuclear weapons.
Selensky: "We have done our part of the homework"
Selensky was optimistic ahead of the meeting with Trump. Their meeting could really help to end the war, he said in his evening video message. "Only the United States can exert such global influence, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that other countries around the world support us in this." The agenda for the meeting in Washington was promising, he said. "We have done our part of the homework before the meeting with President Trump - both military and economic," Selensky assured.
A Ukrainian delegation in the USA had prepared the talks with Trump, and there had also been meetings with US arms and energy companies. Both Patriot air defense systems and Tomahawk cruise missiles are suitable for "laying a lasting foundation for peace", Selensky concluded his speech.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's invasion for more than three and a half years with Western help. Selensky repeatedly emphasizes that the Russian leadership can only be forced to give in with a policy of strength.
His upcoming meeting with Trump in the Oval Office brings back memories of an unprecedented scandal in February. The US President and his Vice President JD Vance brusquely rebuked the Ukrainian head of state in front of the cameras - Selensky then left earlier than planned. The two heads of state then met again at the White House on August 18 - in a much more relaxed atmosphere. In recent weeks, Trump has also made his displeasure with Russia's ongoing warfare clear on several occasions.
Pentagon chief Hegseth has now said that if peace is not achieved soon, the United States and its allies will take the necessary steps to make the war really expensive for Russia. The costs of Moscow's ongoing aggression against Kiev would have to be increased. Hegseth had previously said that he expected Nato to have more "firepower" in the future.
Like Selenskyj, he also emphasized that peace could be achieved by being "strong". Hegseth also pointed out that European countries were now buying US weapons for defense in the Ukraine war.
Trump: India no longer wants to buy oil from Russia
According to him, Trump's strategy of exerting pressure on Russia's trading partners is having an effect. The US President said that India no longer wanted to purchase oil from Russia in future, thus giving in to Washington's demands. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of this.
The USA imposed punitive tariffs on India in August because the country trades in energy with Russia. The USA wants to stop this in order to weaken Russia economically and thus make it more difficult to finance the war in Ukraine. Oil and gas exports are an immensely important source of income for Russia.
There was initially no reaction from India to Trump's statement. The Republican said that China must now be persuaded to do the same.
Germany and Ukraine deepen arms cooperation
Meanwhile, Germany and Ukraine agreed in Brussels on even closer cooperation between their arms industries and in the promotion of research and technology development. The agreement will further strengthen Ukraine's defense and deterrence capabilities and enable Germany to benefit from Ukraine's innovation potential, said Pistorius at the signing of an agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Schmyhal at NATO headquarters.
British Defense Minister John Healey announced that the UK wanted to develop improved interceptor drones together with Ukraine. These would then be mass-produced in the UK and delivered to Ukraine in their thousands every month. The UK has already delivered 85,000 drones to Ukraine this year for defense against the Russian war of aggression, it was reported.
Further Russian attacks
According to the authorities, two people were injured in a Russian drone attack in the north-eastern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv last night. The attack on the city of Nizhyn damaged the branch of a postal company, two residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, among other things, Governor Vyacheslav Chaus announced on Telegram.
According to the Russian occupation administration, at least one person was killed in an attack in Horlivka in eastern Ukraine. Two others were injured, the head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, announced on Telegram. The Ukrainian side had attacked with rocket launchers and drones.
More than 70 percent of the Donetsk region is controlled by Russia. Including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, almost a fifth of Ukraine's territory is under Russian control.
Electricity crisis throughout Ukraine
In the evening, emergency power cuts were ordered across Ukraine. "The reason for the restrictions introduced are the consequences of the previous Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure," the Ministry of Energy in Kiev announced via Telegram. According to the electricity supplier DTEK, the restrictions were lifted again late in the evening, at least for Kiev, the area around the capital and the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa.
The attacks on power plants are also problematic for the population due to the approaching winter. In large parts of Ukraine, temperatures are already dropping into the low single digits at night.
