President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks, after first meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in DC on Friday.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said that “a meeting of our high-level advisors” led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet next week, although the destination has not yet been confirmed.
“President Putin and I will then meet at an agreed location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can end this ‘glorious’ war between Russia and Ukraine,” he said. “President Zelenskyy and I will meet tomorrow in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more. I believe great progress has been made with today’s call.”
Firefighters work at the site where an energy infrastructure company was hit during overnight Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the Poltava region, Ukraine, October 16, 2025. (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Poltava Region/Handout via REUTERS)
TRUMP THREATENS TO ‘TALK’ TO PUTIN ABOUT GIVING TOMAHAWK MISSILES TO UKRAINE NOW RUSSIA HAS THE HOSPITAL
While Trump said the pair had a lengthy conversation about U.S.-Russia trade, he made no mention of the U.S. arming Ukraine with top-level defenses like Tomahawk missiles — which is a major reason Zelenskyy is coming to DC and the issue that reportedly prompted Trump’s call with Putin to begin with.
Earlier this week, Trump said he would have to speak to Putin to see if he would “turn the Tomahawks in their direction.”
Acquiring Tomahawk missiles is a top priority for Zelenskyy because the advanced weaponry could reach far beyond Moscow and transform Ukraine’s ability to hit not only more Russian military complexes but also the oil industry, which largely funds his war chest.
The announcement of the meeting between Trump and Putin comes just hours after Russian missile and drone strikes shelled Ukrainian cities and energy sites early Thursday morning.
In a post on
Apartment buildings are damaged by a Russian military strike, amid the Russian assault on Ukraine, in the frontline city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 13, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS)
The Kremlin warns that it could “end badly for everyone” if the US supplies long-range missiles to Ukraine
“There are injured people. Recovery efforts are underway everywhere. Emergency services are working,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the Russians are also reportedly using “double terror” tactics by attacking firefighters and energy workers with Shahed drones carrying cluster munitions.
“This fall, the Russians are using every day to attack our energy infrastructure,” he added. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has turned a deaf ear to everything the world is saying, so the only language that gets through to him is the language of pressure – pressure through sanctions and pressure through long-range capabilities.”
Zelenskyy travels to DC on Thursday to meet with Trump, as well as defense and energy officials, to discuss how to increase pressure on Putin in an effort to counter his war ambitions in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) meets with US President Donald Trump (R) in Washington DC, United States on August 19, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Trump told reporters this week that other defense topics, such as more Patriot missiles, will also be discussed during the Friday talks.
Trump has not confirmed whether he will give Ukraine the Tomahawk missiles, but he has increasingly expressed frustration that Putin will not stop his war ambitions despite his efforts since re-entering the White House in January.
