Ukrainians disappointed over Tomahawk turn

Ukrainians shared their disappointment Saturday that the U.S. might not provide Kyiv with long-range Tomahawk missiles, as President Trump earlier had suggested may happen, while work to repair the damaged power supply to the country’s Zaporizhzhia power plant soothed other concerns surrounding Europe's largest nuclear plant.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

A CIVILIAN is evacuated from the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka.

(JOSE COLON Anadolu)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Trump at the White House on Friday, after the U.S. leader signaled that Washington could provide Ukraine with the long-range missiles Kyiv believes will help bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

Yet Zelensky ultimately left empty-handed — an outcome that dismayed, but did not surprise, many in the streets of the Ukrainian capital, who maintained their determination to end Russia’s 3½-year invasion of their country.

One Ukrainian military serviceman, Roman Vynnychenko, told the Associated Press that he believed the prospect of Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine was a political “game.”

“Ukraine won't get those missiles,” he said.

Vynnychenko said Ukraine still needed to procure new weapons with or without American help, particularly as Russian drones and missiles continued to hit civilian infrastructure.

“Every day civilians and soldiers die, buildings collapse, our streets and cities are being destroyed,” Vynnychenko said.

Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in February 2022, sparking what has become a grinding war of attrition across a 780-mile front line in Ukraine’s east and south.