1:20President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House, Aug. 18, 2025.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
President Donald Trump, merely days after commemorating a truce agreement he helped facilitate between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, shifts his focus Friday to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as he welcomes President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House.
Ukraine's aspiration to acquire American-manufactured Tomahawk missiles is anticipated to headline the discussions.
"They are seeking to be aggressive," Trump remarked of Kyiv earlier this week. "I will render a judgement on that matter."
President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office at the White House, Aug. 18, 2025.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The extensive range armaments would empower Ukraine to strike far inside Russia, and Zelenskyy portrayed them as pivotal in a confrontation that has extended three-and-a-half years. Moscow, conversely, cautioned that Tomahawk deliveries would constitute "a perilous heightening of tensions between Russia and the United States."
Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in a lengthy phone discussion on Thursday, the day before his face-to-face encounter with Zelenskyy. In an unexpected development, Trump declared that he and Putin intend to convene again (this time in Budapest) to converse about the war subsequent to initial deliberations among senior-level advisors next week.
Trump indicated that he would be informing Zelenskyy on Friday regarding the subjects he and Putin addressed during their call.
The president stated he discussed with Putin "briefly" the topic of Tomahawks in their two-hour exchange. He mentioned asking the Russian leader how he would react if he were to vend them to Ukraine. "He was not fond of the concept," Trump conveyed.
Trump also voiced apprehensions about diminishing the U.S. repository of Tomahawks.
"They hold immense significance. They are exceptionally potent. They are notably precise. They are exceedingly effective. However, we also require them. Thus, I am uncertain of our course of action in this regard," Trump communicated to reporters during a question-and-answer session at an Oval Office event.
Sailors assigned to Navy Munitions Command Pacific, East Asia Division, Unit Guam load UGM-109 Tomahawk missiles onto the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Jefferson City, May 6, 2025.U.S. Navy
This recent diplomatic endeavor surfaces nearly a couple of months subsequent to Trump hosting Putin in Alaska for a prominent summit that ultimately produced no substantial advancement. In the ensuing days, Trump greeted Zelenskyy at the White House, alongside a contingent of European leaders who promptly traveled to Washington to bolster the Ukrainian leader following an unusually strained encounter involving Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office this past February.
Trump, who at one juncture professed his capability to conclude the Russia-Ukraine conflict without delay upon his return to office, has lamented the greater challenge of resolving the hostilities than he originally envisioned.
"The rapport between them is quite dire. … Due to my connection with President Putin, I had anticipated a swift resolution. Yet, it has unfolded otherwise — who would have surmised that I addressed the Middle East issue before this one?" Trump expressed.
President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Aug. 15, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In Alaska, Trump's principal aim was to orchestrate either a trilateral meeting comprising himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy, or a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. Those assemblies never materialized.
ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce, after Trump revealed his intentions to reconvene with Putin in Hungary, inquired of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt whether the president still retained the belief that he could gather Putin and Zelenskyy in the same venue.
"I believe he regards it as feasible, and he would undoubtedly be pleased to witness such an occurrence," Leavitt stated. "However, at present, discussions have taken place, and plans are now underway for the Russian delegation and our personnel, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to convene, followed perhaps by another meeting between President Putin and President Trump. Nevertheless, I do not believe the president has dismissed that possibility altogether."
Concurrently, Russia persists in bombarding Ukraine's energy substructure, launching over 300 drones and approximately three dozen missiles at objectives throughout Ukraine from overnight into Thursday.
Smoke raises amid the ruins in Kostiantynivka, a frontline town where some 5000 people still stay with no water, electricity and gas supply in the site of heaviest battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Oct. 13, 2025.Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP
Zelenskyy, upon arriving in Washington on Thursday, conveyed his hope "that the momentum of curtailing terror and war, which proved effective in the Middle East, will contribute to ending the Russian war against Ukraine."
"Putin is certainly not more courageous than HAMAS or any other terrorist faction. The discourse of might and impartiality will invariably prove effective against Russia as well. We are already observing Moscow hastening to reestablish dialogue, merely upon hearing mention of 'Tomahawks,'" the Ukrainian president inscribed on X.
Zelenskyy conferred with American defense and energy firms on Thursday in anticipation of his Friday meeting at the White House.
Trump has at times attributed Russia's incursion to Ukraine and Zelenskyy, although he has lately articulated exasperation and disappointment with Putin. This week, he asserted that "all that we seek from President Putin" is to cease the bloodshed of Ukrainians and Russians.
"It does not reflect favorably upon him. It is a war that he should have secured victory within a week, and he is now embarking on its fourth year," the president remarked on Wednesday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in comments delivered at a NATO convention this week, also intensified rhetoric against Russia, conspicuously identifying Moscow as the aggressor.
"Should this war persist without resolution, should there be no avenue to peace imminently, then the United States, in conjunction with our allies, will adopt the requisite measures to inflict consequences upon Russia for its sustained aggression," Hegseth declared. "Should we be compelled to undertake this action, the U.S. War Department stands prepared to fulfill our role in capacities exclusive to the United States."
Nonetheless, thus far, Trump and his administration have refrained from instituting stricter sanctions against Russia. Instead, his focus has centered on persuading European countries and nations such as India to discontinue procuring Russian oil.
On Capitol Hill, escalating demands are emerging among Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune — to advance a bill that would enforce economic penalties on Russia.
When queried about his perspective on these endeavors on Thursday, Trump remained ambivalent: "Well, we shall see."
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
