The visit comes a day after Trump said he had a ’very productive’ call with Putin that lasted over two hours.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump will host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 17 at the White House as part of a renewed effort to end the conflict in Eastern Europe.
This will be Zelenskyy’s third visit to the White House this year.
After successfully brokering a peace deal between Israel and Hamas and securing the return of hostages, Trump has now turned his attention to the war in Ukraine. Here is what to know about the upcoming meeting:
Call with Putin
Trump said that he had a “very productive” call on Oct. 16 with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreed to meet with him in Budapest, Hungary, soon.
“President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow, in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the call. “I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation.”
Speaking to reporters later that day, Trump said that Putin and Zelenskyy have “a terrible relationship,” which he described as a major obstacle to peace.
Still, he struck an optimistic tone, saying, “We hope we’re going to get [the war] stopped.”
Trump said his top advisors, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will first meet with their Russian counterparts.
“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,” he wrote.
Trump later told reporters that the meeting with Putin could take place within “two weeks.” The two leaders last met in Alaska in August.
Energy Procurement
In recent weeks, Russia has intensified missile and drone strikes on Ukraine, targeting mainly its civilian energy infrastructure. The latest strikes have destroyed nearly 60 percent of gas production in October, raising fears that millions of Ukrainians could again face freezing temperatures, power outages, and blackouts this winter.
To offset the losses, Ukraine is seeking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States and looking for ways to finance the purchases, according to economy minister Oleksii Sobolev.
In the early hours of Oct. 16, Moscow launched more than 300 drones and fired 37 missiles at targets throughout Ukraine, Zelenskyy said in a message on X.
“Russia has deliberately targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and power grid in recent strikes, with the aim of plunging cities into the cold and darkness once winter sets in,” Razom for Ukraine, a U.S. nonprofit organization that advocates for Ukraine, said in an email.
Tomahawk Missiles
U.S.-made weapons, including Tomahawk missiles, are expected to be a central topic during Zelenskyy’s visit. Earlier this week, Trump said he was considering providing Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles to aid in its war against Russia.
“If this war doesn’t get settled, I may send Tomahawks,” Trump told reporters. As of Oct. 16, however, the president indicated that he had not made a decision on whether to approve the sale.
The Tomahawk system would allow Kyiv to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Putin had previously warned that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would mark “a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation” in the conflict.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Oct. 16, Trump said he raised the issue of Tomahawk missile sales during his call with Putin.
“I did actually say: ‘Would you mind if I gave a couple of thousand Tomahawks to your opposition?’ I did say that to him. I said it just that way,” Trump said. “He didn’t like the idea. You have to be a little bit light-hearted sometimes.”
“Tomahawk is a vicious weapon,” Trump added. “Nobody wants a Tomahawk shot at him.”
Rare Earths
Zelenskyy’s visit also aims to strengthen U.S.–Ukraine economic ties, according to the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna.
“The ambitious bilateral critical minerals deal has already entered the implementation phase, with initial projects underway,” she told The Epoch Times in an email.
On April 30, the two countries signed a minerals agreement that gives the United States access to Ukrainian minerals. The deal includes the establishment of a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s mineral reserves, oil and gas development, and reconstruction.
“In parallel, we have launched negotiations on a unique technology-sharing agreement that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s cutting-edge drone technologies—across land, air, and maritime platforms,” Stefanishyna said.
