President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington for separate, productive talks, the White House said.
The leaders were in Washington to attend the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of Israel and a champion of U.S. aid to Ukraine. The event was marked by a sense of solidarity between the U.S., Ukraine and Israel amid continuing conflicts in the region.
During his meeting with Zelensky, Trump discussed Kyiv’s hope that the U.S. would help reinforce its air‑defence. Crowned with a promise at the NATO summit, Zelensky expects a license for domestic production of Patriot interceptor missiles, which Ukraine says is vital for protecting its cities from Russian drone and ballistic attacks.
Netanyahu’s conversation focused heavily on the Iran conflict, with the two leaders agreeing on a common goal to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Trump praised the meeting as "very good" in a brief Truth Social post.
The U.S. military reported that Iranian forces had attempted a surprise attack on American forces in the Middle East, but all missiles were intercepted. U.S. and Saudi forces subsequently struck Iranian proxies in eastern Iraq that had fired drones at Saudi energy infrastructure.
Zelensky also met a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers right before the Senate voted overwhelmingly to sanction Russian oil and gas buyers, framing the sanctions as a strong signal of U.S. support for Ukraine.
While the Patriot air‑defence system can intercept missiles with ranges up to 1,000 km, each missile costs between $3 million and $5 million. Ukraine has called for 25 Patriot batteries to bolster its defense, with domestic production potentially boosting approval for President Zelensky following recent protests over the dismissal of a popular defense minister.
