Bulgaria Zelenskyi wants to negotiate with Trump over cruise missiles
Despite the Kremlin's warnings about the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, the country's head of state, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, wants to negotiate with US President Donald Trump this very week.
14.10.2025, 06:10
SDA
On Telegram, Zelenskyi named "air defense and our capabilities for long-range attacks to put pressure on Russia for peace" as the "main topic of the visit" on Friday in Washington. He would propose the next steps to Trump.
The Kremlin had emphatically warned the White House against such a delivery and the risk of a backlash with nuclear weapons. The US armed forces have used sea-based Tomahawk missiles in armed conflicts in the past. Kiev does not yet have suitable warships or submarines, but the USA also has a new land-based variant.
Russia warns Trump against delivery of cruise missiles
Trump has not ruled out the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine and recently said that he wanted to talk to the Russian side about the issue. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned against such a delivery on Monday. "In fact, the handling of such heavy cruise missiles requires the involvement of American specialists in one way or another," he said, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
The deputy head of the National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, also warned the USA and wrote on Telegram: "The delivery of these cruise missiles could end badly for everyone. And especially for Trump himself." On approach, it is not possible to tell whether a Tomahawk cruise missile is nuclear-tipped or not. "How should Russia react? Exactly like this!" The nuclear power Russia keeps threatening with its nuclear weapons. According to Medvedev, who was once president himself, he hopes that this will remain an empty threat from Trump.
Weapon with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers
Tomahawk cruise missiles have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers and can, in principle, also be equipped with nuclear warheads. Zelenskyi has already asked the US government several times for the delivery of Tomahawks. Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than three and a half years with Western help.
Zelenskyi said that his visit to the US would also include "important meetings" with defense companies and possibly with US senators and congressmen. At Trump's suggestion, there would also be talks with US energy companies.
"We must prepare ourselves in any case," explained Selenskyj. A Ukrainian delegation including Head of Government Yulia Svyrydenko, the Head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, and the Secretary of the National Security Council, Rustem Umyerov, is already on its way to the USA.
Wadephul calls for more pressure on Russia to negotiate
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul appealed to Trump to increase the pressure on Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin to end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine following his successful mediation in the Gaza war. Trump had "made a decisive contribution to this agreement regarding the Gaza Strip. And Germany is calling on him to continue his efforts to bring about negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," said the CDU politician at a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Georg Georgiev in the capital Sofia.
In the first phase of Trump's Gaza peace plan, the last remaining hostages held by Islamist terrorists in the Gaza Strip were released on Monday - in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Trump presented his peace plan two weeks ago and then put pressure on Israel and the Islamist Hamas to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages and prisoners.
Russia attacks Kharkiv
In contrast, Russia is continuing its war against Ukraine. In the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, there were power cuts during the night following Russian bomb attacks. Four people were injured, as Mayor Ihor Terekhov announced on Telegram. Three of the city's nine districts were affected by power cuts. A medical facility was also damaged. Kharkiv is just over 20 kilometers from the Russian border.
