Washington — President Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, a day after Mr. Trump held a long call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Announce The two leaders will meet in Budapest.
Zelensky is asking Mr. Trump for more military aid War with Russia It continues. The long-range missiles sought by Zelensky are expected to be the focus of Friday’s White House meeting. Mr. Trump was considering sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. But he also said he wanted to raise that possibility with Putin first, suggesting he might convince Putin to cooperate while Trump continues to try to end the war.
Trump said he discussed the Tomahawk missiles “a little bit” with Putin during their phone call on Thursday. But he seemed to downplay the idea of sending them.
“I will tell you that we need Tomahawk missiles for the United States of America, too,” the president said on Thursday. “We have a lot of it, but we need it. I mean we can’t drain our country.”
Mr. Trump had previously said that the Tomahawk missiles would be a “new aggressive step” in the Russia-Ukraine war. The missiles would enable Ukraine to strike deep into Russia.
“I might say, ‘Look, if this war doesn’t get settled, I’m going to send in Tomahawk missiles,'” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “We may not do it, but we may do it.”
The last time the American and Ukrainian presidents met in person was in late September, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York. Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky spoke Twice over the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, before Mr. Trump’s whirlwind trip to the Middle East to mark the anniversary Peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Russia has given no indication that it wants to end the war. Ukrainian authorities said another large-scale Russian strike occurred hours before Trump spoke to Putin by phone.
“The massive overnight strike — which began hours before the conversation between Putin and President Trump — reveals Moscow’s true stance toward peace,” Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olga Stefanyshyn said in a statement on Thursday. “While discussions about ending the war continue, Russia has once again chosen missiles over dialogue, turning this attack into a direct blow to ongoing peace efforts led by President Trump.”
Mr. Trump in recent months has expressed frustration with Putin over the failure to end the war, albeit on a separate front. The First Lady Melania Trump She said last week that she worked with the Russian leader’s team to return Ukrainian children to their families.
Trump said “significant progress was made” in his call with Putin on Thursday, though he did not provide any details.
US and Russian advisors are scheduled to meet next week at a yet-to-be-disclosed location ahead of the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin. The President noted that the initial meetings preceding the meeting with the Russian leader will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.