AP: Ukrainians disappointed by White House meeting

Ukrainians expressed disappointment that the United States may not provide Kiev with long-range "Tomahawk" missiles, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House on Friday after the American leader signaled that Washington might agree to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles that Kiev believes would force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

But Zelensky left empty-handed – a result that alarmed but did not surprise many on the streets of the Ukrainian capital, who remain determined to end Russia's three-and-a-half-year invasion of their country.

Roman Vinnychenko, a Ukrainian military officer, told the AP that he believed the prospect of Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine was a political game. "Ukraine will not get these missiles," he said.

Vynnychenko said Kiev still needs to get new weapons - with or without American help - especially as Russian drones and missiles continue to strike civilian infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Trump's frustration with the ongoing conflict has been demonstrated repeatedly in the nine months since he returned to power. In recent weeks, he has shown growing impatience with Putin and expressed a greater willingness to help Ukraine win the war, including by selling Tomahawk missiles.

But the US president's tone softened again after he held a long phone call with his Russian counterpart on Thursday and announced that he planned to meet him in Budapest in the coming weeks.

The conversation raised new hopes that diplomatic progress could be made to end the war.

But after multiple failed initiatives, Ukrainians are reluctant to believe that a breakthrough can be achieved soon, the AP noted.