With a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal holding, President Donald Trump says he’s now turning his attention to bringing Russia’s war on Ukraine to an end and is weighing providing Kyiv long-range weaponry as he looks to prod Moscow to the negotiating table. Trump will speak with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Thursday as he considers Ukraine’s push for long-range missiles, according to a White House official who was not authorised to discuss a private call and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza was central to Trump’s 2024 reelection pitch, in which he persistently pilloried President Joe Biden for his handling of the conflicts. Yet, like his predecessor, Trump also has been stymied by Putin as he’s unsuccessfully pressed the Russian leader to hold direct talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war that is nearing its fourth year.
But fresh off the Gaza ceasefire, Trump is showing new confidence that he can finally make headway on ending the Russian invasion. He’s also signalling that he’s ready to step up pressure on Putin if he doesn’t come to the table soon. “Interestingly we made progress today, because of what’s happened in the Middle East," Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine war on Wednesday evening as he welcomed supporters of his White House ballroom project to a glitzy dinner.
Earlier this week in Jerusalem, in a speech to the Knesset, Trump predicted the truce in Gaza would lay the groundwork for the US to help Israel and many of its Middle East neighbours normalise relations. But Trump also made clear his top foreign policy priority now is ending the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
“First, we have to get Russia done,” Trump said, turning to his special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has also served as his administration’s chief interlocutor with Putin. “We gotta get that one done. If you don’t mind, Steve, let’s focus on Russia first. All right?”Trump weighs Tomahawks for Ukraine. Trump is set to host Zelenskyy for talks on Friday, their fourth face-to-face meeting this year.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump has said he’s weighing selling Kyiv long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, which would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory — if Putin doesn’t settle the war soon. Zelenskyy, who has long sought the weapons system, said it would help Ukraine put the sort of pressure on Russia needed to get Putin to engage in peace talks.
Putin has made clear that providing Ukraine with Tomahawks would cross a red line and further damage relations between Moscow and Washington.But Trump has been undeterred.“He’d like to have Tomahawks,” Trump said of Zelenskyy on Tuesday. “We have a lot of Tomahawks.”
