Trump: I'm Going to Meet With Putin on the War

President Trump said Thursday that he will meet with Vladimir Putin in Budapest in a bid to end the Russia-Ukraine war, reports the Wall Street Journal. The date has not been settled. Trump made the announcement on Truth Social after what he called a "very productive" phone call with the Russian leader. The development comes as Trump prepares to meet on Friday with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House

The meeting between Trump and Putin will follow a meeting next week between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and top Russian officials, per Politico. "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," Trump wrote, referring to the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. He said Putin congratulated him for his role in that.

A big topic of discussion on Friday is expected to be Tomahawk missiles. Trump has recently hinted that he was considering sending the missiles—capable of traveling over 1,000 miles—to Ukraine, but the positive tone of his conversation with Putin may indicate a cooling on that possibility, per the Journal.