While
U.S. President Donald Trump did not rule out providing the long-range
Tomahawk missiles Zelenskiy seeks, Trump appeared cool to the prospect
as he looked ahead to a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in
Hungary in the coming weeks.
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After
speaking with Zelenskiy for more than two hours, Trump implored both
Ukraine and Russia to "stop the war immediately," even if it means
Ukraine conceding territory.
"You
stop at the battle line, and both sides should go home, go to their
families," Trump told reporters on his way to his home in West Palm
Beach, Florida. "Stop the killing. And that should be it. Stop right now
at the battle line. I told that to President Zelenskiy. I told it to
President Putin."
Trump's
move to re-engage with Putin, a strategy that has frustrated Zelenskiy
and some European allies in the past, cast a shadow on the U.S.
president's otherwise cordial exchange with his Ukrainian counterpart as
they spoke with reporters ahead of a private lunch.
The
two leaders then went behind closed doors where they also discussed a
call the previous day between the Russian president and Trump, who has
portrayed himself as a mediator between the warring forces despite the
fact that Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
'GET ALONG A LITTLE'
"I
think President Zelenskiy wants it done, and I think President Putin
wants it done. Now all they have to do is get along a little bit," Trump
told reporters.
Zelenskiy,
however, noted how difficult it has been to try to secure a ceasefire.
"We want this. Putin doesn't want (it)," he said.
The
Ukrainian leader was frank, telling Trump that Ukraine has thousands of
drones ready for an offensive against Russian targets, but needs
American missiles.
“We don't have Tomahawks, that's why we need Tomahawks,” he said.
Trump responded: "We'd much rather have them not need Tomahawks."
Later,
Trump reiterated that he wants the United States to hold onto its
weaponry. "We want Tomahawks also. We don't want to be giving away
things that we need to protect our country," he said.
After
the meeting, which Zelenskiy described as productive, he told reporters
he did not want to talk about long-range missiles, saying the U.S. did
not want escalation, and that he was "realistic" about his chance of
getting them.
The
Ukrainian president, who spoke by phone with European leaders after the
meeting, said he was counting on Trump to pressure Putin "to stop this
war."
When
asked about Trump’s comments, Zelenskiy said: "President (Trump) is
right, and we have to stop where we are. This is important, to stop
where we are, and then to speak."
BACK TO THE TABLE
It
was unclear what Putin had told Trump that prompted him to agree to the
upcoming meeting. Their August summit in Alaska ended early with no
major breakthrough.
.
[1/4]U.S.
President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy over lunch in the Cabinet Room at the White House in
Washington, D.C., U.S., October 17, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Purchase Licensing Rights
The Kremlin said much needed to be decided and that the summit might take place "a little later" than within the two-week period mentioned by Trump.
Trump's
conciliatory tone after the call with Putin raised questions over the
near-term likelihood of assistance to Ukraine and reignited European
fears of a deal that suits Russia. A spokesperson for the European Union said it welcomed the talks if they could help bring peace to Ukraine.
Trump was asked on Friday whether he was concerned Putin might be "playing" him for time by agreeing to talks.
"You know, I've been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well, so it's possible," Trump replied.
Michael
Carpenter, a former U.S. official who is now a senior fellow at
International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the meeting with
Trump was not what Zelenskiy had been hoping for but was in line with
the administration's approach to the war.
"The underlying reality is that there is no inclination to impose costs on Russia," he said.
The
president expressed affection for Zelenskiy, at one point praising him
for wearing what Trump called a "very stylish" dark suit jacket after he
was knocked earlier this year for visiting the White House without one.
"He looks beautiful in his jacket," Trump said. "I hope people notice."
WAR HAS INTENSIFIED
Trump,
who has campaigned for the Nobel Peace Prize, is eager to add to the
list of conflicts he says he has been instrumental in ending.
More
than 3-1/2 years after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has
made some territorial gains this year, but Ukraine's top military
commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday that the Russian offensive
had failed.
Putin this month said his forces had taken
almost 5,000 square kilometres (1,930 square miles) of land in Ukraine
in 2025, equivalent to adding 1% of Ukraine's territory to the nearly
20% already held.
Both sides have also escalated attacks on each other's energy systems, and Russian drones and jets have strayed into NATO countries.
ANALYSTS SEE TALKS AS DELAYING TACTIC
The
White House had seemed in recent days to be increasingly frustrated
with Putin and leaning toward granting Zelenskiy fresh support,
including the Tomahawk missiles that Ukrainians say would help them inflict more damage to Russia's war machine.
After
Friday's talks, Zelenskiy said Russia was "afraid" of Tomahawks. Moscow
has warned that supplying such missiles would mark a serious
escalation.
Putin's
move appeared meant to make the U.S. transfer of such weapons less
likely, said Max Bergmann, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies.
Mykola
Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian
non-governmental organization that is a major procurer of military
equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces, said Tomahawk missiles would
level a playing field that is tipped toward Russia.
"We
don't expect Russia to crumble after one, two or three successful
strikes," Bielieskov said. "But it's about pressure, constant pressure.
It's about disrupting the military-industrial complex."
Reporting by Jeff Mason, Nandita Bose, Gram Slattery and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv, Cassel Bryan-Low, Tom Balmforth in London, Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom in Washington, Bhargav Acharya in Toronto, Anita Komuves in Budapest and Anastasia Lyrchikova in Moscow; writing by James Oliphant and Matt Spetalnick; editing by Philippa Fletcher, Colleen Jenkins and Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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