Ukraine officials meet with US weapons manufacturers

KYIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian government delegation has met with prominent American weapons manufacturers during a U.S. visit, a senior Kyiv official said Wednesday, before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at the White House later this week.

A delegation led by the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andrii Yermak, and Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko met with representatives of Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, Yermak wrote in a Telegram post.

Yermak didn’t disclose what was discussed during the talks, but said that his country’s cooperation with the two companies “continues to grow” as Ukraine looks for further help resisting Russia’s all-out war , which began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Yermak, posted on X that Ukraine is seeking cruise missiles, air defense systems and joint drone production agreements from the United States.

Raytheon produces Patriot air defense systems, which have been vital for Ukrainian efforts to counter Russian long-range strikes, and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Kyiv officials are keen to obtain Tomahawks, which could allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow, accurately and with large warheads.

Lockheed Martin also manufactures a wide array of sophisticated weapon systems that can help Ukraine.

U.S. pushes for peace

While Zelenskyy is widely expected to request Trump’s go-ahead at the Oval Office to procure Tomahawks, Washington has hesitated over such a move out of concern that it could escalate the war and deepen tensions between the United States and Russia.

However, Trump on Sunday warned Russia that he may send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Moscow doesn’t end its war there soon — possibly using that threat to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to compromise.

“If this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Ukraine’s Western backers, gathered at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do,” he said.

Putin said that Tomahawks wouldn’t change the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in published remarks Sunday that the issue of Tomahawks is “of extreme concern” to Moscow.

The NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels discussed how they can maintain the momentum of weapons supplies to Ukraine, after European military aid for Kyiv dropped sharply in the summer. European allies and Canada are buying American weapons to help Kyiv hold back Russia’s forces.

U.S. minerals deal projects take shape

Meanwhile, Svyrydenko, the Ukrainian prime minister, said that she met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday, as the two countries put the finishing touches to the U.S.-Ukraine Reinvestment Fund , part of an agreement granting American access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources.

Svyrydenko said that the fund is “several important decisions away” from starting to function.

The first potential projects set to receive investments in the critical minerals, energy and infrastructure sectors are taking shape, she said.

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continued their almost daily attacks on each other’s energy assets, as Ukraine tries to dent Russian fuel supplies and oil revenue and Russia seeks to cripple the Ukrainian power grid before winter.

Ukraine’s armed forces conducted an overnight strike on an oil terminal in Feodosia, in the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, according to a post on Telegram Wednesday by the General Staff. The terminal is an important logistical link supplying Russian forces with fuel, it said.

The attack damaged 16 fuel reservoirs that were still intact after Ukrainian forces struck the terminal last week, sparking a fire, it added.

Meanwhile, Naftogaz Group, Ukraine’s biggest oil and gas company, said Wednesday that Russia struck one of its thermal power plants overnight, the latest in a series of major attacks on the company’s natural gas facilities and infrastructure.

At least two Ukrainian regions reported blackouts.

Lorne Cook contributed to this report from Brussels.

乌克兰基辅——一位基辅高级官员周三表示，乌克兰政府代表团在访美期间会见了美国一些知名武器制造商。此前，乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基将于本周晚些时候在白宫与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普举行会晤。

乌克兰总统办公室主任安德烈·叶尔马克和总理尤利娅·斯维里登科率领的代表团会见了洛克希德·马丁公司和雷神公司的代表，叶尔马克在 Telegram 上发帖写道。

叶尔马克没有透露会谈内容，但他表示，随着乌克兰寻求进一步帮助以抵抗俄罗斯于 2022 年 2 月 24 日发动的全面战争，乌克兰与这两家公司的合作“持续增长”。

叶尔马克的高级顾问米哈伊洛·波多利亚克在 X 上发帖称，乌克兰正在寻求从美国获得巡航导弹、防空系统和联合无人机生产协议。

雷神公司生产的“爱国者”防空系统和“战斧”巡航导弹对乌克兰应对俄罗斯远程打击至关重要。基辅官员渴望获得“战斧”导弹，这将使乌克兰能够使用大威力弹头精确打击俄罗斯纵深目标，包括莫斯科。

洛克希德·马丁公司还生产各种各样可以帮助乌克兰的先进武器系统。

美国推动和平

尽管外界普遍预期泽连斯基将在椭圆形办公室请求特朗普批准采购战斧导弹，但华盛顿方面一直对这一举动犹豫不决，担心这可能会升级战争，加深美俄之间的紧张关系。

然而，特朗普周日警告俄罗斯，如果莫斯科不尽快结束在乌克兰的战争，他可能会向乌克兰派遣战斧导弹——他可能利用这一威胁来加大对俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京的压力，迫使其做出妥协。

“如果这场战争不结束，如果短期内没有和平的途径，那么美国及其盟友将采取必要措施，让俄罗斯为其持续的侵略行为付出代价，”美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯在布鲁塞尔北约总部对乌克兰的西方支持者说。

他说：“如果我们必须采取这一步骤，美国战争部随时准备以只有美国才能做到的方式尽我们的一份力。”

普京表示，战斧导弹不会改变乌克兰战场的局势，而克里姆林宫发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫周日发表声明称，战斧导弹问题“令莫斯科极为关注”。

在布鲁塞尔举行的北约国防部长会议上，与会者讨论了如何维持对乌克兰的武器供应势头。此前，欧洲对基辅的军事援助在夏季大幅下降。欧洲盟国和加拿大正在购买美国武器，以帮助基辅抵御俄罗斯军队。

美国矿产交易项目初具雏形

与此同时，乌克兰总理斯维里登科表示，她周二会见了美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特，两国正在敲定美乌再投资基金的最后细节，该基金是允许美国获取乌克兰丰富矿产资源的协议的一部分。

斯维里登科表示，该基金距离开始运作“还有几个重要决定要做”。

她表示，首批有望在关键矿产、能源和基础设施领域获得投资的项目正在成形。

与此同时，俄罗斯和乌克兰继续几乎每天对对方的能源资产发动攻击，乌克兰试图削弱俄罗斯的燃料供应和石油收入，而俄罗斯则试图在冬季到来之前瘫痪乌克兰的电网。

据乌克兰总参谋部周三在Telegram上发布的消息，乌克兰武装部队连夜袭击了位于俄罗斯吞并的克里米亚半岛费奥多西亚的一个石油码头。该码头是向俄罗斯军队供应燃料的重要后勤通道。

声明还补充说，此次袭击损坏了 16 个燃料储罐，这些储罐在上周乌克兰军队袭击该油库并引发火灾后仍然完好无损。

与此同时，乌克兰最大的石油天然气公司Naftogaz集团周三表示，俄罗斯连夜袭击了该公司的一座火力发电厂，这是该公司天然气设施和基础设施遭受的一系列重大袭击中的最新一起。

乌克兰至少有两个地区报告停电。

Lorne Cook从布鲁塞尔对此报道亦有贡献。