Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet President Donald Trump on Friday at the White House. He is expected to request that the president provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to use in Ukraine’s war against Russia. However, on Thursday, Zelensky met with officials from multiple U.S. weapons and energy companies, which Ukraine’s president mentioned on his social media accounts.
Zelensky met with Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, heads of U.S. energy companies, and officials from defense companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. Wright and Zelensky discussed cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector, among other related geopolitical matters.
“During my meeting with Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy Chris Wright, we discussed in detail energy capacities and potential projects for partnership in the energy sector,” Zelensky posted. “I spoke about Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy system and the need to restore the affected facilities as quickly as possible. I am grateful for the readiness to provide everything necessary to ensure the continued functioning of our energy system.”
In meetings with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin representatives, Zelensky discussed his country’s need for air-defense weapon systems and other weapons to protect “against Russian aggression.” He emphasized the numerous drone attacks Russia has carried out against Ukraine, which have often hit civilian areas.
“I had a meeting with representatives of the defense company Lockheed Martin,” Zelensky said in his post. “We discussed our prospects for cooperation and ways to strengthen Ukraine’s protection against Russian aggression.”
“I outlined Ukraine’s specific needs for air defense systems and their compatible missiles, as well as F-16 aircraft,” he added. “Russia is carrying out increasingly brutal strikes against Ukraine ahead of winter, and our air defenses need to be reinforced right now.”
He echoed similar sentiments in a meeting with representatives from Raytheon, particularly discussing the company’s well-known Patriot defense system weapons.
“I met with representatives of the defense company Raytheon, which produces, in particular, Patriot systems,” Zelensky said.
“I told them about the battlefield situation and Russia’s intensified attacks on our people and civilian infrastructure,” he said. “We discussed Raytheon’s production capacity, potential avenues for our cooperation to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense and long-range capabilities, and the prospects for Ukrainian-American joint production.”
“Solutions to enhance the protection of lives in Ukraine exist, and we are working at all levels to ensure their realization,” Zelensky added.
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The meetings came as Russia launched more drone and missile strikes against Ukraine, hitting “civilian infrastructure” in the city of Kryvyi Rih on Thursday.
“Nothing has changed for Russia – it is still terrorizing life in Ukraine. A swarm of drones struck Kryvyi Rih, hitting civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky said in a post on X. “There were dozens more attack drones in our skies. Missiles were also spotted. In fact, not a single night in recent weeks has passed without Russian strikes on Ukraine. Most of the targets are infrastructure – a systematic campaign of terror against our energy sector.”
