In October 2025, the U.S. president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, urged Ukrainian officials to ask Donald Trump to cancel tariffs instead of providing long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles. His remarks are cited by The Wall Street Journal.
That month President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Washington hoping to obtain American Tomahawk cruise missiles — the Ukrainian military wanted to put oil refineries out of action, forcing Moscow to come to negotiations on more favorable terms, the media outlet writes.
Refusal of missiles after a call with Putin
However, the day before Zelensky's arrival, U.S. leader Donald Trump had a call with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and decided not to offer Tomahawks to Ukraine.
Witkoff urged Ukrainian officials to try a different approach, asking what good "a handful of missiles" would do, WSJ reports.
Alternative proposal
Instead, the special envoy urged Ukraine to ask Trump for a 10-year exemption from tariffs. In Witkoff's view, this would give a significant boost to the Ukrainian economy.
"I make deals. That's why I'm here. We keep knocking on doors and offering ideas."
– he explained to reporters.
