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Witkoff Advised Ukraine to Ask Trump to Lift Tariffs Rather Than Seek Tomahawk Missiles

Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in October advised Ukrainian officials to ask for a 10-year suspension of tariffs instead of long-range Tomahawk missiles. This came after Trump's call with Putin, after which the United States refused to provide the missiles to Ukraine.

Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik

By Tetiana Suchkova-Ladik

November 29, 2025 · 1 min read

Witkoff Advised Ukraine to Ask Trump to Lift Tariffs Rather Than Seek Tomahawk Missiles

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.

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May 26, 2026