DONALD Trump will meet with Vladimir Putin in Hungary after a “very productive” phone call between the pair, he announced.
The fresh head-to-head plan marks a renewed push from Trump to end the war in Ukraine – amid speculation he will let Ukraine use game-changing US Tomahawk missiles in crunch talks with Zelensky tomorrow.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the call was “good and productive”, and said that high-level advisors from the two countries would meet for preliminary talks next week.
He added: “President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.”
It will be the second time the pair meet during Trump’s second term, and the eighth overall.
Exactly when it will happen remains unclear.
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Trump suggested the momentum of the Gaza peace deal may roll on to help end fighting in Ukraine.
He wrote: “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.”
But Trump first has an important meeting with the other side, when he tomorrow sits down with Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the Oval Office.
The latest phone call with Putin will be discussed, alongside “much more”, Trump said.
One topic Zelensky is likely to bring up will be the US’s Tomahawk cruise missiles – which Trump has vowed to give to Kyiv if if Putin fails to toe the line.
The long-distance bombs have a maximum range of 2,500km with warheads that weight almost half a ton – and experts claim they could decide the fate of the war.
If approved, they would give Ukraine a huge strategic boost, allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia – including the depths of Siberia and the capital, Moscow.
On Wednesday, Trump said Ukraine were planning to “go on the offensive”.
Detailing his upcoming meeting with the Ukrainian leader, Trump said: “We’ll be talking about the war with him.
“They want to go offensive – I’ll make a determination on that, but they would like to go offensive.”
Previously emphasising his growing impatience with the Russian despot’s war, Trump said last week: “I might say, ‘Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks’.”
Trump hailed Tomahawk missiles – which he used to blitz Iran in June – as “incredible” offensive weapons.
Zelensky meanwhile said on Wednesday: “Tools like Patriots and Tomahawks can help lay a long-term foundation for peace.”
A Ukrainian top official told POLITICO: “We indeed can go on the offensive – it all depends on the weapons we get and the approved plan.”
Greenlighting Tomahawk cruise missiles would be hugely symbolic for Ukraine – underlining that Washington is clearly back on Kyiv’s side.
Ukrainian forces also believe allowing them to use the vital weapons would make Russia think twice about further advances – serving as a critical deterrent.
It comes after Trump’s growing frustration with Putin was made clear with the US president slamming his Russian counterpart’s invasion.
He said on Tuesday it was making Russia “look bad”, adding: “I don’t know why he continues with this war, he should have won that war in one week.
“He just doesn’t want to end that war. And I think it’s making him look very bad.”
He added: “I have to tell you, I give credit because who would think that Ukraine could have fought Russia for four years to essentially a standstill.”
The US president last met Russian dictator Putin in August for high-stakes crunch talks in Alaska.
Following the meeting, Putin was expected to meet Zelensky face-to-face for a proposed bilateral and trilateral summit.
But plans for peace talks to end the bloodshed once and for all have since stalled.
Instead, Russian despot Putin has all but ramped up his devastating attacks on Ukraine.
Possibly emboldened, mad Vlad has even launched risky naval and aerial operations across Europe.
Russia has been accused of launching drones into Nato airspace and has even flown fighter jets to Europe’s doorstep in a daring test of the West’s limits.
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Trump will now attempt to broker a ceasefire and end to the war between the two countries following his recent success in the Middle East.
His ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which appears to be holding, resulted in the release of the remaining 20 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
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