U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outside the West Wing of the White House on October 17, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Getty Images
After achieving a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, US President Donald Trump has refocused on trying to end the Russia-Ukraine war. What are the consequences of another surge in diplomacy?
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Over the past few days, US President Donald Trump has managed to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agree with him on a potential meeting in Budapest. After that, he will meet with the Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
In a tense atmosphere, Trump refused to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, and the topic of territorial concessions by Kyiv was again raised in the discussion.
Still, the Trump-Zelensky meeting “wasn’t as bleak as reported,” an unnamed European diplomat told Politico. The meeting was “empty but not a disaster” for Ukrainians, with the Ukrainian delegation falling victim to “bad timing and inflated expectations,” added two Republican foreign policy experts with direct knowledge of the meeting.
What are the real consequences of the last days of diplomacy for Ukraine? Forbes Ukraine identified three negative and two positive ones.
