Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the funeral of US Senator Lindsey Graham in Washington on July 28, 2026, where both also met separately with former President Donald Trump at the White House [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Zelensky focused on Ukraine’s request for increased US military support, including air defense systems. He discussed obtaining licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles domestically. "He accepted that he will give us licences ... I hope that we will do co-production," Zelensky said after the meeting [2, 6]. Ukraine has requested 25 Patriot interceptor systems; each missile costs between $3 million and $5 million [2].
The Ukrainian leader also met with a bipartisan group of US senators ahead of the Senate vote on a package of new sanctions targeting Russia’s energy exports, which support its war effort [2, 7, 6, 5]. The Senate voted on this bipartisan sanctions legislation on the same day [7, 6, 5].
Netanyahu’s visit marked his first meeting with Trump since the Iran war began in February 2026 [3, 8, 9]. Relations between Trump and Netanyahu have been tense in recent months due to disagreements over the conduct of the Iran war and the US-Saudi nuclear deal. Trump publicly criticized Netanyahu and blamed him for stalled efforts against Iran, even calling him "crazy" during a phone call [10, 3, 8, 9, 11]. Netanyahu said of the meeting, "This is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility. We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran. Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us" [8].
The US had paused airstrikes on Iran to allow diplomatic efforts to resume, amid Pentagon concerns over missile stock depletion [3, 9]. Despite the tensions, some reports say both leaders sought to tone down disagreements and emphasize continuing alliance [8].
Zelensky, whose relationship with Trump has warmed in recent months following Ukraine’s military gains, said, "Peace needs to be brought closer" [9, 6, 11]. The coincidence of the two leaders’ visits was due to attending the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, who was a staunch supporter of both Israel and Ukraine in the Senate before his sudden death on July 11 at age 71 [1, 2, 3, 9, 4, 6, 5]. Trump called Graham "a great politician and a great gentleman" and lamented his loss [5].
Netanyahu left Israel on July 27, and Zelensky arrived in Washington the same day to prepare for meetings and attend the funeral [3, 8, 9]. Both had their White House meetings on July 28, the day of the funeral [1, 2, 3, 8, 4, 6, 5].
The next major event is the ongoing Senate consideration of Ukraine-related sanctions and military support legislation, which will influence US policy in the conflict with Russia and aid to Kyiv.
