On October 17 at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Commenting on his October 17 meeting with Trump, Zelensky said a ceasefire is needed before any direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.
The central topic of the Trump–Zelensky meeting was how to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. Trump believes the fighting should be halted along the current front line. Zelensky agreed, but said it should serve as a basis for further negotiations.
“We should stop where we are now. And then we’ll talk… My position is: let’s first agree to a ceasefire so we can sit down at the negotiating table,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Zelensky said he also discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and the transfer of long-range weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (referring to Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 km — editor’s note). The sides agreed not to speak publicly about U.S. long-range weapons for Ukraine to avoid escalation.
“Russians are afraid of Tomahawks. They know it’s a powerful weapon. They also know what weapons we produce, and they fear the combination,” Zelensky said.
After the talks, Trump announced he will soon meet personally with Vladimir Putin to discuss ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. He said the meeting will take place in Budapest, Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the second Trump–Putin summit is expected in Budapest in about two weeks, and preparations are already underway.
