Trump to host Zelenskyy for White House talks as US president agrees fresh meeting with Putin

The Ukrainian president arrived in Washington on Thursday as he looks to convince the Trump administration to part with long-range Tomahawk missiles - which have the capacity to reach Moscow.

Moscow also expressed "extreme concern" over the US potentially providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Mr Putin himself has previously suggested that the United States supplying long-range missiles to Kyiv will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington.

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Despite this, Mr Trump appears to be leaning towards providing the deadly missiles to Ukraine as Mr Putin continues his war.

Today’s meeting comes after Mr Trump has held a phone call with President Putin, who reportedly offered his congratulations and agreed to a new round of negotiations between the US and Russia in an attempt to end the war in Ukraine.

The pair look set to meet in Hungary, without a Ukrainian voice present.

President Trump said after the call: "I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine.

"He was very appreciative, and said that this will continue. We also spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over."

The US President laid out plans for further negotiations with Russia, first between high-level Russian and US advisors next week and then between the two Presidents in Hungary at a later date.

During the call Putin supposedly also thanked the First Lady Melania for her work with supporting children in crisis.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President.

He is accused of the 'war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation'.

A team of experts at Yale University has estimated that as many as 35,000 Ukrainian children may be held in Russia and its occupied territories.

The US leader is piling the pressure on Moscow following stalled talks and a more aggressive approach from Washington in recent weeks.

Mr Trump told reporters on Tuesday the talks could signal a “big step” in the war - as he ramps up pressure on the Russian leader to get serious about peace talks with the US.

“I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so,” he said.

“I think I might speak to Russia about that, in all fairness. I told that to President Zelenskyy, because Tomahawks are a new step of aggression,” the US President added.

Mr Trump said on board Air Force One: "I really think Putin would look great if he got this settled" and that "It's not going to be good for him" if not.

Mr Zelenskyy described a recent call with Mr Trump as "very productive", and said the pair had discussed strengthening Ukraine's "air defence, resilience, and long-range capabilities", along with "details related to the energy sector".

On Sunday, Mr Zelenskyy was asked whether Mr Trump had approved the Tomahawks and said, "we work on it".

"I'm waiting for president to yes," Mr Zelenskyy told Fox News.

"Of course we count on such decisions, but we will see. We will see."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in remarks published on Sunday that "the topic of Tomahawks is of extreme concern".

The US president in recent weeks has taken a notably tougher tact with Mr Putin, after the Russian leader has declined to engage in direct talks with Mr Zelenskyy about easing fighting.

Last month, Mr Trump announced that he now believes Ukraine could win back all the territory lost to Russia - a dramatic shift from his repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

But Mr Trump has resisted Zelenskyy's calls for Tomahawks. They would allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory and put the sort of pressure on Putin that Zelensky argues is needed to get the Russians to seriously engage in peace talks.