Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington last week for his Friday meeting at the White House armed with charts and maps showing how he planned to use U.S. help to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin serious negotiations to end the more than three-and-a-half-year war. He hoped that President Donald Trump would approve the addition of U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine’s homegrown arsenal of long-range drones to continue to degrade Russia’s oil and gas facilities.
Instead in the White House luncheon, Zelensky ran into a buzzsaw of resistance that was foreshadowed by Trump’s “very productive” phone call with Putin the day before, including sitting stone-faced while a reporter from Lindell TV demanded to know what “specific concessions” Zelensky would make to Putin given that “our president has stuck out his neck,” to make peace deal for “your war,” and stating that “Americans have foreign war fatigue.”
Trump made clear that, after talking to Putin for more than two hours Thursday, he’d given up on his idea of just a few weeks ago that Ukraine, with U.S. weapons and backing from Europe, could reclaim any of the territory now occupied by Russia. It was also clear that there would be no Tomahawks, only pressure for Zelensky to quit fighting.
“It’s an escalation,” Trump said.
It was a sucker punch to the gut, and it only got worse behind closed doors.
SHOUTING, CURSING, CHART TOSSING: According to the Financial Times, the Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelensky “descended many times into a ‘shouting match’” with Trump “cursing all the time” and at one point tossing battlefield maps Zelensky had brought to show Trump how Ukraine was holding the front lines.
Trump reportedly berated Zelensky, much as he did during the infamous February Oval Office session in which he lectured the Ukrainian president for “not having the cards” to continue fighting Russia. Citing a European official “with knowledge of the meeting,” the FT said Trump allegedly told Zelensky the conflict was a “special operation, not even a war,” echoing Putin talking points. And in a complete reversal from a post on Truth Social four weeks ago, he told Zelensky he was losing the war and was in no position to take back any territory. “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”
Separately, the Washington Post reported that in his Thursday phone call with Trump, Putin demanded Ukraine surrender the rest of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, which currently controls about 78% of the territory, and in exchange, Russia might be willing to part with Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Russia occupies.
LET HISTORY DECIDE! After the meeting, Trump indicated in a Truth Social post, and in comments to reporters, that he was giving up on taking sides, and was calling on both Russia and Ukraine to just stop fighting and “go home to your families in peace!”
“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts. They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide! No more shooting, no more Death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent,” Trump said.
“They should stop the war immediately. You go by the battle line wherever it is. Otherwise, it’s too complicated. You’ll never be able to figure it out. You stop at the battle line, and both sides should go home. Go to their families,” Trump told reporters in Florida.
In an appearance on Fox News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump was “growing very weary” of the war and that both sides “need to recognize the reality on the ground” even as Trump insisted the war is having no effect on the United States.
ZELENSKY: ‘I’M REALISTIC’: During the public part of the meeting, Trump made clear at least half a dozen times that he has no intention of giving Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. “It’s beyond the money. You know, we need Tomahawks and we need a lot of other weapons that we’re sending to Ukraine,” he said at one point. “It’s not easy for us to give. You’re talking about massive numbers.”
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with, without thinking about Tomahawks,” Trump said at another point.
Asked afterward if he was at all optimistic about getting the Tomahawks, Zelensky told reporters, “I’m realistic.” He tried to put the best face on Trump’s demand to freeze the battlelines where they are now, characterizing it as a ceasefire, which Ukraine has already said it would agree to as a prelude to peace talks.
“I understand that we have to finish this war and begin this finishing from the place where soldiers stay, from the contact line, as I understood correctly,” Zelensky said in an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press. “If we want to stop this war and to go to peace negotiations urgently and in a diplomatic way, we need to stay where we stay, not to give something additional to Putin because he wants.”
“We are not losing this war, and Putin is not winning. And really, his army is now in a weak position,” Zelensky said on NBC. “And really, I don’t understand why the leader of the country, which has the biggest territory in the world, they need some more kilometers. That’s why I think that this war is not about the land and not about territory for him. It’s about our sovereignty and about our independence.”
In his nightly video address, Zelensky vowed not to give up, and not to cede any territory to Russia. “We will grant the aggressor no gifts and forget nothing,” he said. “We clearly see: this Russia is a long-term threat. Therefore, in Europe, we need long-term cooperation and tangible results – both in the short term and with a forward-looking perspective – so that people can live.”
TRUMP SAYS US ‘CAN’T GIVE ALL’ ITS WEAPONS TO UKRAINE AS ZELENSKY SEEKS TOMAHAWK MISSILES
Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: ICE OFFICIAL TO TESTIFY: Russell Hott, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office Director in Chicago, is due to appear in federal court today to answer questions about several incidents where ICE agents appeared to be using tear gas and other crowd control methods in violation of a court order.
Hott has been summoned to testify by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who said last week that she is “profoundly concerned” that federal agents have been violating her orders about the use of tear gas in an immigration enforcement effort dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz.”
The judge has also ordered federal agents who have already been issued body cameras to wear them and keep them on during “law enforcement activities” in Chicago.
COLOMBIA ACCUSES U.S. OF MURDER, TRUMP RESPONDS: Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, in a post on X, claimed a U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in international waters was actually in the territorial waters of Colombia and was a fishing boat with engine trouble.
“U.S. government officials have committed a murder and violated our sovereignty in territorial waters, Petro said in his post. “Fisherman Alejandro Carranza had no ties to the drug trade, and his daily activity was fishing. The Colombian boat was adrift and had its distress signal up due to an engine failure.”
President Trump immediately fired back on his Truth Social platform, calling Petro an “illegal drug dealer” with “a fresh mouth toward America.” Drugs, Trump said, “has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America,” announcing the U.S. would immediately end the counternarcotics assistance, and later told reporters on Air Force One that he would announce new tariffs on Colombian goods today.
“Petro, a low-rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely,” Trump said.
TRUMP THREATENS TO STRIKE COLOMBIAN DRUG FIELDS, CUTS SUBSIDIES TO COUNTRY
IN OTHER BOAT STRIKE NEWS: War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a video, which he said showed an airstrike from Friday that destroyed a boat allegedly affiliated with Ejército de Liberación Nacional, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.
“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along a known narco-trafficking route, and was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics,” Hegsteh said in his post. “There were three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike — which was conducted in international waters. All three terrorists were killed.”
Meanwhile, two men who survived a Thursday attack on a semi-submersible boat suspected of running drugs were repatriated over the weekend to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador after being rescued by the U.S. Navy. At least two other people were killed in the strike against what President Trump called “a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs.”
“Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people,” Trump said. “I don’t know too many people that have submarines, and that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded-up submarine.”
TRUMP CONFIRMS US STRIKE ON DRUG SUBMARINE, KILLING TWO ‘NARCOTERRORISTS’
Legal experts continue to question the legality of the strikes, which Trump insisted he has the absolute authority to order as commander in chief responsible for protecting the United States.
“This idea that you kill people first and then ask questions later, I think, has been really controversial, has led to all sorts of questioning of whether or not the Trump administration is violating not only domestic law, but international law in staging these strikes in contrast to the way this has always been done by the Coast Guard,” Cynthia Arnson, an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said on CNN.
“Here are procedures that have been in place for decades as to how U.S. law enforcement, particularly the Coast Guard, but also backed up by the U.S. Navy, have handled these kinds of situations, where there are warnings, where the boat is stopped, where people on board are arrested, where they are interrogated, prosecuted, whatever, and the drugs are seized,” she said.
So far, the U.S. military has carried out at least six boat strikes that have killed at least 32 people. One of the most prominent critics of Trump’s policy is Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).
“All of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name, without any evidence of a crime,” Paul said on NBC. “You know, when you kill someone, you should know, if you’re not in — at war, not in a declared war, you really need to know someone’s name at least. You have to accuse them of something. You have to present evidence.”
“The other thing about these speed boats is they’re 2,000 miles away from us. If they have drugs, they’re probably peddling drugs to one of the islands of Trinidad or Tobago off of Venezuela,” Paul said. “The idea that they’re coming here is a huge assumption and really should have to present some proof. It is the difference between war and peace.”
RAND PAUL SAYS US STRIKES AGAINST VENEZUELAN DRUG BOATS GO AGAINST ‘ALL OF OUR TRADITION’
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump threatens to strike Colombian drug fields, cuts subsidies to country
Washington Examiner: Trump confirms US strike on drug submarine, killing two ‘narcoterrorists’
Washington Examiner: Rand Paul says US strikes against Venezuelan drug boats go against ‘all of our tradition’
Washington Examiner: Trump says US ‘can’t give all’ its weapons to Ukraine as Zelensky seeks Tomahawk missiles
Washington Examiner: Israel strikes Gaza and halts humanitarian aid after claiming Hamas violated ceasefire
Washington Examiner: US warns of ‘imminent’ attack by Hamas on Palestinians that would violate peace deal
Washington Examiner: Top Houthi military leader killed in Yemen by ‘Israeli-American’ airstrike
Washington Examiner: Trump says Maduro ‘doesn’t want to f*** around with the US’ and is ‘offering everything’
Washington Examiner: Afghanistan and Pakistan pledge to respect ceasefire after more than a week of fighting
Washington Examiner: Vance promises paychecks during shutdown at Marines’ 250th anniversary event
Washington Examiner: Mexican cartels target migrants with AI images of Trump saying border is open
Washington Examiner: Trump is building a ‘smart wall’ on border. Here’s what that means
Washington Examiner: Quarter-million Americans have applied to ICE and Border Patrol under Trump
Washington Examiner: Congolese prime minister voices hope Trump peace deal could be saved despite setbacks
Washington Examiner: Artillery debris from USMC 250th anniversary celebration damages highway patrol vehicle
Washington Post: Putin demanded Ukraine surrender key territory in call with Trump
Financial Times: Trump urged Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s terms or be ‘destroyed’ by Russia
Wall Street Journal: Trump Bets Personal Diplomacy Will Break Ukraine War Logjam
Washington Post: Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal
Washington Post: U.S. repatriating survivors of alleged drug boat strike to Colombia, Ecuador
AP: Renewed Fighting Tests Gaza Ceasefire and Israel Briefly Halts Aid
Politico: Top Nuclear Weapons Agency to Furlough Most Staff amid Shutdown
The War Zone: China’s Huge ‘GJ-X’ Stealth Drone Appears to Have Been Spotted in the Air for the First Time
New York Times: Epoch Times Reporter Resigns After Publication Signs Pentagon Rules
Washington Post: Pentagon press confronts new reality of Trump era: Being banned from the Pentagon
Wall Street Journal: Drone Threats Ignite Burst of Counterdrone Wizardry
Breaking Defense: No Future for Space Futures Command, Sources Say
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-1 Bomber Task Force Deploys to Japan
Breaking Defense: Army Looking to Field CCA-Like Capability Potentially in ‘Next Couple of Years’
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Navy CCA Program’s Shape Coming into Focus
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Contract to Inform Commercial Weather Strategy
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Alaska Air Guard Evacuates Hundreds of Typhoon Victims
THE CALENDAR:
MONDAY | OCTOBER 20
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defense and Security Department and the U.S. Naval Institute virtual discussion: “Submarines in an Era of Renewed Great Power Competition,” with Vice Adm. Robert “Rob” Gaucher, commander, Naval Submarine Forces, commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet;aCommander, Allied Submarine Command; retired Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, CEO and publisher, U.S. Naval Institute; and Seth Jones, president, CSIS DSD https://www.csis.org/events/submarines-era-renewed-great-power-competition
12 p.m. — Foreign Policy virtual discussion: “Trump New Expansionism,” with Greg Grandin, author of America, America: A New History of the New World https://foreignpolicy.com/live/trumps-new-expansionism/
12 p.m. — Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies virtual discussion: “Democracy and War: Politics and Identity in a Time of Global Threats,” with Norbert Rottgen, chairman, German Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee and former German minister for the environment, nature conservation and nuclear safety; and Hartmut Mayer, chair and academic director at the SAIS Europe Master of Arts in Global Risk https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events
4 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University School of Public Policy discussion: “The Gaza Deal: Political Opportunities and Challenges ,” with former National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horne https://events.georgetown.edu/sfs/event
4 p.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Panama Vision for the Canal Next Chapter ,” with Panama Canal Affairs Minister Jose Ramon Icaza https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/panamas-vision-for-the-canals-next-chapter/
6 p.m. 2121 P St. NW — Washington Diplomat discussion: “Russia war with Ukraine and Ukraine ongoing efforts to join NATO, steps toward EU integration, humanitarian challenges and the vital economic reforms shaping Ukraine future,” with Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ambassador-insider-series-ukraine
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 21
8 a.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council ROK-U.S. Alliance Trans-Atlantic-Pacific Security Forum, with former U.S. Ambassador South Korea Mark Lipper https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/rok-us-alliance
10 a.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University Center for Security Studies discussion: “NATO Ongoing Transformation,” with Deputy Assistant NATO Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Javier Colomina https://events.georgetown.edu/sfs/event/
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “Preventing Taiwan War: Is Strategic Ambiguity Still Working?” with Eric Heginbotham, principal research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program; Michael Swaine, senior reach fellow in the Quincy Institute East Asia Program; Bonnie Glaser, managing director, German Marshall Fund Indo-Pacific Program; and Jake Werner, director, Quincy Institute East Asia Program https://quincyinst.org/events/preventing-taiwan-war-is-strategic-ambiguity-still-working/
2 p.m. — Defense One virtual discussion: “Genius Machines: The Next AI Breakthrough; What U.S. Military Research Reveals About the Next State of AI Development,” with Dan Tadross, head of public sector at Scale AI https://events.defenseone.com/genius-machines-the-next-ai-breakthrough
2 p.m. 779 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussion: “The Gaza Peace Plan: What Will It Take to Bring Peace after Two Years of War?” with Zaha Hassan, CEIP senior fellow; Amr Hamzawy, director, CEIP Middle East Program; Frederic Wehrey, senior fellow at the CEIP Middle East Program; and Marwan Muasher, CEIP vice president for studies https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/10/the-gaza-peace-plan
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 22
11:30 a.m. — Washington Space Business Roundtable virtual discussion: “China, Space, and Geopolitics,” with Dean Cheng, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies senior fellow; Chris Williams, chair, National Security Space Association Center for Space Studies; and Christian Davenport, Washington Post reporter and author of Rocket Dreams: Musk, Bezos, and the Inside Story of the New, Trillion-Dollar Space Race https://wsbr.org/event/china-space-and-geopolitics
1:30 p.m. — National Defense Industrial Association and MITRE virtual discussion: “AI for Requirements: Modernizing DOD Requirements Process,” with Arun Seraphin, executive director, Emerging Technologies Institute https://www.ndia.org/events/2025/10/22/ai-for-requirements
2 p.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Rethinking America North Korea Strategy,” with Joel Wit, Stimson Center fellow; Jean Lee, presidential chair at the East-West Center; and Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow https://carnegieendowment.org/events/
2:30 p.m. 1333 H St. NW — Center for American Progress discussion: “A New Vision for American Foreign Policy ,” with Rep. Jason Crow (D-Co) https://www.americanprogress.org/events/a-new-vision-for-american-foreign-policy
3 p.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Transatlantic Security and NATO’s Northeastern Flank,” with Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/denmarks-defense-minister
3 p.m. — Axios Future of Defense Summit. https://axiosthefutureofdefensesummit2025interest.splashthat.com/
5 p.m. 1521 16th St. NW — Institute of World Politics discussion: “The War in Ukraine — An Update from the Front,” with Glenn Corn, IWP faculty member and former CIA senior executive https://www.iwp.edu/the-war-in-ukraine-an-update-from-the-front/
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 23
8 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual seminar: “Countering the PRC Gray-Zone Strategies,” with Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson; Ta-Chen Chen, Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology non-resident fellow; and Arielle Ann Nicole Lopez of the National Defense College of the Philippines Senior Defense Research Office https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/countering-the-prcs-gray-zone-strategies
11 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual discussion on a new report: “Stuck in the Cul-de-Sac: How U.S. Defense Spending Prioritizes Innovation Over Deterrence,” with co-author Carlton Haelig, CNAS fellow; co-author Philip Sheers, CNAS research associate; Todd Harrison, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow; and Susanna Blume, CNAS senior fellow https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-stuck-in-the-cul-de-sac
12 p.m. 37th and O Sts. NW — Georgetown University Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and Center for Contemporary Arab Studies discussion: “The Trump-Netanyahu Peace Plan for Gaza: A Critical Appraisal ,” with Diana Buttu, professor at Georgetown University Qatar https://events.georgetown.edu/sfs/event/33345-the-trump-netanyahu-peace-plan
2 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Air Mobility ,” with Air Force Gen. John Lamontagne, commander, Air Mobility Command; and retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/events/gen-john-lamontagne/
FRIDAY | OCTOBER 24
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar: “Russia’s Evolving Tactical and Theater Nuclear Posture ,” with Phillip Karber, professor of strategy and praxis at the National Defense University https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/russias-evolving-tactical-theater-nuclear-posture
