Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 28 that he had a "good" meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, the latest sign that the once chilly relationship between the two leaders has warmed significantly in recent months.
"Good meeting with President Trump at the Oval Office. Thank you for everything we are doing together to protect Ukrainian lives and achieve peace," Zelensky said after the Tuesday meeting.
On Telegram, he said he discussed with the U.S. president a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Trump agreed to allow Ukraine to co-produce Patriot interceptor systems, a critical component of the country's defense against Russian air strikes.
According to Zelensky, the talks also focused on reviving diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fourth year. The meeting was held behind closed doors and, according to U.S. media, lasted over an hour. The same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also at the White House for talks with Trump.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that both meetings were "positive and productive."
Kyiv and Washington are also nearing a deal on joint production of drones. This move could help the U.S. catch up with Ukraine in one of the war's most critical military technologies. Ukraine plans to produce six to seven million short-range attack drones this year, while the Pentagon's $1.1 billion production program is expected to order nearly 200,000 drones by February 2027.
This cooperation marks a significant improvement in ties after a disastrous meeting in February last year, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Zelensky for what they saw as ingratitude for U.S. support.
The Trump administration has sharply curtailed new military aid to Ukraine, leaving Europe as Kyiv's primary source of financial and military support. The U.S. continues to mediate in the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but diplomatic efforts have slowed in recent weeks as Washington focuses on other foreign-policy priorities.
Trump and Zelensky have met several times in recent weeks, including at the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month and at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains in mid-June. At both meetings, the leaders reaffirmed support for closer cooperation on the war. In Ankara, Trump said he had a good relationship with his Ukrainian counterpart.
