Laura Loomer, Lindsey Graham and the deepening Iran crisis: what’s behind Trump’s reset with Zelenskyy?

Trump and Zelenskyy Hold Multiple Meetings as Ukraine Offers Drone Defense Assistance During US-Iran Conflict

Relations between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have included several meetings since an initial February 2025 White House encounter that ended without agreement. The two leaders met again this week in Washington following the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham and earlier at a NATO summit in Ankara.

At the Ankara meeting, Trump stated he would grant licenses for Ukraine to produce its own Patriot missile interceptors, though he later expressed uncertainty about the commitment during a cabinet meeting. Graham had supported US assistance to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

In June, the United States and Ukraine signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at a 60-day ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Hostilities continued, including disputes over the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed at the outset of its conflict with the United States and Israel that began on February 28.

Charles Kupchan, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former White House adviser on European affairs, stated that Trump’s stance toward Zelenskyy has changed. “We’ve gone from a phase in which he was throwing Zelenskyy out of the Oval Office, and turning his back on him, to a situation today where they seem to have a reasonably good relationship, and where there have now been a succession of meetings that have gone well,” Kupchan said.

Zelenskyy met with Laura Loomer, a conservative social media influencer, in Kyiv. After the meeting, Loomer said she had revised her prior views on Ukraine and contacted Trump about the discussion. She stated that her updated assessment was influencing opinion within Trump’s political base.

Analysts have cited several factors for the shift in US-Ukrainian contacts, including Trump’s stated preference for negotiated outcomes and Russia’s rejection of earlier proposed terms. Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft—an organization that advocates reduced US military involvement abroad—said Ukraine’s offers of assistance during the US-Iran conflict could be relevant. “At a moment when he is stuck in a war, faced with bad military options, and suddenly the Ukrainians are approaching him no longer asking for American charity but offering help, I find it quite plausible that that could be a reason,” Parsi said.

Iran has conducted drone attacks on US military sites and facilities in Gulf states. Ukraine has faced Iranian Shahed drones supplied to Russia since 2022 and has developed countermeasures. Zelenskyy told UK members of Parliament in March that 200 Ukrainian personnel had been sent to 11 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, to advise on drone defense.

Ukraine struck an Iranian commercial vessel on the Caspian Sea last weekend. Ukrainian authorities stated the vessel was transporting arms to Russia and noted that the ship was subject to international sanctions for such shipments, according to Ukraine’s Security Service. Iran reported one sailor killed and said it would respond. Zelenskyy told Sky News that Iran’s supply of drones and technology to Russia constituted an attack on Ukraine and that Ukrainian intelligence showed Russian satellite data being shared with Iran for strikes on US and Gulf targets.

Kupchan described Zelenskyy’s outreach as an effort to demonstrate value to the United States. “Zelensky has done a very good job of communicating to Trump that he is going to help him on Iran,” Kupchan said. “It’s an investment in his relationships with Trump, and with Europe, because he’s demonstrating Ukraine’s value as an ally.”

Sina Toossi, a fellow at the Center for International Policy—an organization focused on restraint in US foreign policy—said Ukraine’s actions could link the two conflicts in Tehran’s view. “The likely implication is not an immediate missile strike on Ukraine, but a broader expansion of where Tehran believes it can legitimately impose costs,” Toossi said.

After Zelenskyy’s Washington meeting, Ukrainian acting foreign minister Andrii Sybiha spoke with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. Sybiha wrote that Ukraine’s goal was to avoid escalation and that its actions targeted Russian aggression rather than civilian vessels or personnel.

Matt Duss, vice president of the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, said closer Ukrainian coordination with Israel could affect domestic support for Ukraine. “Trying to draw closer to Israel in the war on Iran really undermines a lot of Ukraine’s case,” Duss said.

Kupchan noted that core elements of Trump’s political supporters remain opposed to large-scale foreign assistance. “The centre of gravity in the Maga movement is still skeptical of foreign wars, and of sending large amounts of money to Ukraine, and I don’t see that changing,” he said.

The sequence of meetings and statements has occurred alongside continued Iranian drone activity and Ukrainian efforts to share defensive technology with Gulf states facing similar threats.