{"id":2708,"date":"2025-10-18T00:26:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T00:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2708"},"modified":"2025-10-18T00:26:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T00:26:32","slug":"trump-zelensky-discuss-potential-tomahawk-sale-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2708","title":{"rendered":"Trump, Zelensky Discuss Potential Tomahawk Sale to Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong>\u2019s meeting with <strong>Ukrainian <\/strong>President Volodymyr Zelensky, <strong>Mongolia<\/strong>\u2019s second ousted premier in just four months, and military purges in <strong>China<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Seeking U.S. Tomahawks<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Hoping to capitalize on the momentum of last week\u2019s U.S.-brokered <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/10\/israel-hamas-cease-fire-deal-gaza-hostages-palestinian-prisoners-aid-trump\/\">Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal<\/a>, U.S. President Donald Trump is turning his attention back to the Russia-Ukraine war. On Friday, he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House to discuss next steps to bringing lasting peace to the region.<\/p>\n<p>Securing more weapons was at the top of Zelensky\u2019s agenda. In particular, Ukraine is <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/03\/ukraine-tomahawks-missiles-russia-putin-trump-long-range\/\">seeking to purchase<\/a> long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States. According to Zelensky, these weapons are needed to target key military sites, energy facilities, and other critical infrastructure deep inside Russian territory in order to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to engage in direct negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, the White House appeared to be considering such a deal, particularly after Trump and Zelensky met last month to discuss the battlefield\u2019s status. At the time, Trump announced that he believed Kyiv could win back all of its Russian-occupied territory, a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/09\/23\/trump-zelensky-russia-ukraine-estonia-airspace-war\/\">dramatic rhetorical about-face<\/a> from his previous stance that Ukraine must make territorial concessions to end the war.<\/p>\n<p>But on Thursday, after Trump held a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/10\/16\/us\/politics\/trump-putin-cease-fire-ukraine.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20251017&amp;instance_id=164613&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=208084&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">lengthy phone call<\/a> with Putin, the U.S. president seemed less enthusiastic about giving Kyiv the missiles. \u201cWe need Tomahawks for the United States of America too,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe have a lot of them, but we need them. I mean, we can\u2019t deplete our country.\u201d He went on to describe the Tomahawk as \u201ca vicious, offensive, incredibly destructive weapon\u201d and noted that Putin did not want the United States to give the missiles to Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>According to Russian foreign-policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, Putin had <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-zelenskyy-putin-ukraine-tomahawks-ce697e5eda6ce9793b4343499d105a8c?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_17%20Oct_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">warned<\/a> Trump that allowing Ukraine to purchase U.S. Tomahawks \u201cwon\u2019t change the situation on the battlefield but would cause substantial damage to the relationship between our countries.\u201d Similar threats have worked on the U.S. president before. Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/07\/08\/trump-ukraine-russia-weapons-deliveries-aid-war-putin-pentagon-elbridge-colby\/\">repeatedly delayed<\/a> imposing any new sanctions on Moscow to avoid angering the Kremlin and scuppering the chance for a peace deal.<\/p>\n<p>To counter Trump\u2019s reluctance, Zelensky is expected to offer Trump several potential deals. That includes one in which, in exchange for Washington supplying Tomahawks to Ukraine, Kyiv would give the United States new Ukrainian-made drones\u2014even as drones have become essential to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/16\/ukraine-russia-war-drones-iran-china-fpv-nato\/\">Ukraine\u2019s battle strategy<\/a>. If that doesn\u2019t work, Zelensky may offer to house U.S. liquified natural gas in Ukrainian storage facilities, which would allow the United States to have a presence in the lucrative European energy market.<\/p>\n<p>Zelensky, asked by a reporter at a press conference if he was more or less optimistic about getting the Tomahawks following his meeting with Trump, answered: \u201cI\u2019m realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even if Trump agrees to sell the missiles to Ukraine, though, it will likely still be difficult for Kyiv or its European backers to find the money to purchase them. Just one Tomahawk costs as much as $2.5 million. And although Ukraine can now benefit from NATO\u2019s new <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/05\/31\/biden-ukraine-russia-weapons-nato-germany\/\">fast-track procurement system<\/a>, which allows European nations to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine\u2019s use, such a price tag may still prove to be too costly.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, hopes remain high that Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/en\/news\/odesa-zaslugovuye-na-bilshij-zahist-i-bilshu-pidtrimku-ce-mo-100809\">renewed focus<\/a> on peacemaking may help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Friday\u2019s meeting was Trump and Zelensky\u2019s fourth face-to-face discussion since Trump returned to office in January. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with senior Moscow aides next week to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest, Hungary.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Party shake-up. <\/strong>Mongolian lawmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/mongolia-prime-minister-zandanshatar-dismissed-3ec6b5fc3c8735d6a0a167aced81ba03?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_17%20Oct_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">passed a resolution<\/a> on Friday effectively ousting Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav from power after they agreed to accept the resignation of his chief rival, parliamentary speaker Amarbayasgalan Dashzegve, the day before. Zandanshatar\u2019s removal marks a <a href=\"https:\/\/asia.nikkei.com\/politics\/mongolian-prime-minister-steps-down-after-four-months\">rare power struggle<\/a> within the ruling Mongolian People\u2019s Party, which both individuals are members of.<\/p>\n<p>Zandanshatar\u2019s feud with Amarbayasgalan began four months ago, when the prime minister accused the speaker of involvement with corruption in the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/07\/02\/mongolia-parliamentary-elections-mpp-democratic-russia-china\/\">coal mining industry<\/a>. Zandanshatar reiterated these allegations, along with praise for his own efforts to raise salaries for teachers and doctors, ahead of the parliament\u2019s vote on Friday. Amarbayasgalan, meanwhile, asked to resign on Thursday in an effort to restore his honor.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear who will serve as Zandanshatar\u2019s replacement until a new prime minister can be elected; Zandanshatar was only named premier in June. Among the grounds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-10-17\/mongolia-s-prime-minister-unexpectedly-ousted-by-parliament-vote\">cited<\/a> for Zandanshatar\u2019s removal were his efforts to bypass parliament to appoint a new justice minister and a possible loss in state revenue over a change in government royalties for the country\u2019s coal and iron ore.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Military crackdown. <\/strong>Chinese President Xi Jinping has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/china-expels-two-top-generals-communist-party-anti-corruption-purge-2025-10-17\/\">purged<\/a> his second-most senior general, Gen. He Weidong; Navy Adm. Miao Hua; and seven other high-ranking military commanders as part of an ongoing crackdown on the country\u2019s armed forces, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Xi has previously targeted officials whom he believes are guilty of corruption or disloyalty. \u201cThe military is one of few possible alternate power bases to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], to the extent that it is separate from the party at all,\u201d FP\u2019s James Palmer <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/12\/03\/china-military-official-investigation-discipline-purge\/\">wrote<\/a> in China Brief during another major dismissal in December 2024. \u201cBut the military is also genuinely corrupt\u2014a problem that repeated purges haven\u2019t solved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All nine commanders removed will face court martial. Gen. He, specifically, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/china\/xi-removes-chinas-no-2-general-in-escalating-purge-of-military-leadership-15eb3dfd\">dismissed<\/a> for alleged \u201csevere violations of party discipline\u201d and \u201cserious duty-related crimes\u201d involving large sums of money. The 68-year-old is the first incumbent vice chair of the Central Military Commission to be removed in nearly 40 years, and he is the <a href=\"http:\/\/bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-10-17\/china-ousts-top-military-official-as-xi-widens-corruption-purge\">most senior active-duty officer<\/a> who Xi has ever ousted. Gen. He hasn\u2019t been seen publicly since March.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New man in charge. <\/strong>Madagascar\u2019s military coup leader, Col. Michael Randrianirina, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cr7mn1n53jno\">sworn in<\/a> on Friday as the nation\u2019s new president to the raucous cheers of many of the same young people who participated in a weekslong movement against now-ousted President Andry Rajoelina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday marks a historic turning point for our country,\u201d Randrianirina said. \u201cWith a people in full fervor, driven by the desire for change \u2026 we joyfully open a new chapter in the life of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anti-government demonstrations began last month, with <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/17\/gen-z-protests-global-revolution-youth\/\">thousands of young people<\/a> protesting <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/08\/africa-gen-z-protests-madagascar-morocco\/\">water and power shortages<\/a> as well as alleged government corruption. On Tuesday, these protests came to a head with the impeachment of Rajoelina and the subsequent military takeover of the country; Rajoelina has since fled Madagascar and has refused to step down while in exile. The United Nations and African Union have denounced the military coup.<\/p>\n<p>However, such foreign condemnation has not scared off Randrianirina. He has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/madagascar-military-ruler-randrianirina-sworn-president-reuters-witness-2025-10-17\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=101725&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">vowed to organize<\/a> new elections after two years of military rule. In the interim, a military-led committee will govern Madagascar alongside a transitional government.<\/p>\n<p>But FP\u2019s Africa Brief writer, Nosmot Gbadamosi, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/15\/madagascar-protests-military-takeover-president-flees\/\">warns<\/a> that such promises appear weak: \u201cThe military is already indicating that it may follow a now-perfected African coup playbook by promising institutional reforms and a national referendum to establish a new constitution\u2014key tools that military leaders in <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2022\/10\/05\/burkina-faso-coup-junta-russia-ecowas\/\">Burkina Faso<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2022\/12\/06\/chad-deby-coup-leader-democracy\/\">Chad<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2021\/09\/14\/guinea-military-coup-abuses-avoidable\/\">Guinea<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/08\/19\/a-coup-wont-end-malis-corruption-and-insecurity\/\">Mali<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/08\/28\/niger-coup-africa-strategy-united-states-france-democracy-crisis\/\">Niger<\/a> have used to delay elections and legitimize their power.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What in the World?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Which action occurred on Monday as part of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas?<\/p>\n<p>A. Hostages and prisoners were exchanged<br \/>B. Hamas disarmed and began leaving the Gaza Strip<br \/>C. Israel allowed unfettered humanitarian aid to enter Gaza<br \/>D. A technocratic government council was appointed<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s a case of the missing artwork. Spanish authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/10\/17\/style\/picasso-still-life-guitar-missing-spain-intl-scli\">confirmed<\/a> on Friday that they are investigating the disappearance of Pablo Picasso\u2019s 1919 \u201cStill Life with Guitar,\u201d which vanished while in transit from Madrid to Granada. While the painting measures at just 5 inches tall, the gouache work is insured for an estimated $700,000. Picasso\u2019s masterpieces have been the target of several major art thefts in recent years, though it is still unclear if thieves were behind this piece\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>And the Answer Is\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A. Hostages and prisoners were exchanged<\/p>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump was in Israel that day to address the Knesset and make clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that this cease-fire will last, FP\u2019s Keith Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/13\/trump-knesset-speech-israel-gaza-cease-fire-hostages-hamas-netanuyahu\/\">reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/17\/news-quiz-peru-gang-crackdown-madagascar-coup-israel-hamas-gaza-cease-fire\/\">click here<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/alerts\/\">sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/17\/trump-zelensky-tomahawks-missiles-ukraine-russia-putin-hungary\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mongolia\u2019s second ousted premier in just four months, and military purges in China. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday. Sign [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}