Zelensky pushes for U.S. missiles, hints at supporting Trump’s Nobel bid if peace deal reached

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been pressing Washington for weeks to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles, has now inserted himself into the conversation over Donald Trump and the Nobel Peace Prize.

That conversation has been heavily amplified by Trump and his inner circle, who have long sought such international recognition.

«We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine.»

As Kyiv insists it needs these weapons to have, in Zelensky’s words, «a fighting chance» against Russia, the Ukrainian leader has floated a proposition: support for Trump’s Nobel bid in exchange for a deal that would deliver Tomahawks and pave the way toward a peace agreement.

As Netanyahu wrote on X, «Give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize — he deserves it!», a declaration made amid emerging Israel–Gaza peace efforts, Zelensky, when pressed by journalists, delivered a parallel message to Trump.

According to Politico, Zelensky said: «The plan for ending the war won’t be easy, but it is certainly the way forward. And if Trump gives the world, above all, the Ukrainian people, the chance for such a ceasefire» and then, adding about Trump’s potential nomination, «then yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.»

Zelensky concluded with a clearer message about Ukraine’s intentions, declaring that if Trump helps secure a ceasefire in Ukraine: «We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine.»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Congressman Buddy Carter, Malta’s foreign minister Ian Borg, leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Gabon, Israel, Pakistan and Rwanda, as well as the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel, have all publicly pushed for Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced on October 10.

«Strong sanctions, strong political pressure, Russia’s accountability for the war, all of this is necessary.»

A strong political pressure

On September 24, 2025, at the UN General Assembly in New York, Zelensky urged the international community to increase pressure on Moscow, declaring: «Strong sanctions, strong political pressure, Russia’s accountability for the war, all of this is necessary.»

In late September, Zelensky explicitly asked Trump for Tomahawk cruise missiles, according to Axios, saying that even without using them, merely possessing such weapons would help Ukraine «force» (according to Axios) Russia into peace negotiations.