Zelensky to make case for missiles at White House, after Trump and Putin agree meeting

On Friday, US President Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington as he considers arming Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles that can penetrate deep into Russia.

Their meeting follows Trump’s claim that “great progress” was made over the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two agreed to meet in person in Hungary.

The first meeting with Putin since mid-August, Trump said the chat was “very productive” and that Washington and Moscow officials will meet the following week.  Zelensky claimed that Moscow was “rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks” as he made his third trip to the US since January.

Zelensky has called on the US to provide Ukraine with the advanced missiles, which have a range of 2,500 km (1,500 miles).

Asked earlier this week if Trump was considering giving Ukraine Tomahawks, he said: “We’ll see… I may.”

But when asked about the same prospect following his call with Putin, Trump said “we can’t deplete” the US stockpile of Tomahawks, adding “we need them too… so I don’t know what we can do about that”.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he and Putin “spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over” after the call ended.

He announced that “high level advisers” from both nations would meet next week at an undisclosed location, with the U.S. delegation being led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump has taken a tougher stance with Putin in recent months, despite initially being perceived as having greater sympathy for Russia than his predecessor Joe Biden.

He had hoped that an in-person summit in Alaska in August would persuade Putin to engage in extensive peace negotiations to put an end to the conflict, but that meeting did not result in a significant breakthrough.

The Russian president briefed Orban on his phone call with Trump, while the Hungarian leader said he would help organise a possible summit in Budapest. Putin also noted plans to discuss further steps to resolve “the situation in Ukraine” with US representatives, the state-owned Tass news agency reported.

The planned meeting in Budapest was “great news for the peace-loving people of the world”, Orban wrote on X on Thursday, and he added that he had spoken to Trump by phone.

Trump and Putin could have another talk a week after Rubio’s meeting with advisors, Orban told state radio.

“Since the EU is pro-war, it is logical that it will be left out of this peace process,” he added.