Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky in US for Trump meeting after President announces new Putin summit

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said preparations for Putin and Trump’s summit in Budapest were underway.

Posting on X after a phone call with Trump, the president said: “Hungary is the island of PEACE!”

He previously said the meeting was “great news for the peace-loving people of the world.”

Zelensky expects the momentum from the ceasefire will help end the Ukraine war as Moscow tries to renew its dialogue after Trump threatened to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles.

In a post on X, the president said: “Putin is certainly no braver than Hamas or any other terrorist. The language of strength and justice will inevitably work against Russia as well.

“We can already see that Moscow is rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks.

“There must be no alternative but peace and reliably guaranteed security – and it is crucial to protect people from Russian strikes and assaults as soon as possible.”

Nigel Farage supports shooting down Russian fighter jets that violate Nato airspace, as he calls Putin “a very bad dude”.

“Clearly, Putin is not a rational man,” Farage said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“The idea that I’m soft on this is just nonsense.”

Farage has faced criticism that his stance on Moscow could hurt his chance of becoming Prime Minister.

In the interview on Thursday, he said he would support spending frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, and may even deploy British troops to the country if he were to become PM.

Trump and Putin will meet in Budapest in the next two weeks, while foreign ministers Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov will speak beforehand.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said: “We have a problem, they don’t get along too well, those two,” Trump says, arguing that this requires separate meetings,” Sky News reported.

“This is a terrible relationship the two of them have.”

Trump and Putin’s phone call was initiated by Moscow, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

The pair are now planning to meet in Budapest soon, the location of which was suggested by Trump and immediately agreed to by Putin, Mr Ushakov said.

He said the two countries will now quickly prepare for the summit, and the timing of the meeting will depend on how the preparations go.

Zelensky has landed in Washington ahead of his visit to the Oval Office on Friday.

In the meantime, he is having meetings with defence company representatives, who produce powerful weapons that can strengthen Ukraine’s protection, he said. He is planning to seek out additional supplies of air defence systems.

Zelensky will also meet with energy companies.

“Now, as Russia is betting on terror against our energy sector and carrying out daily strikes, we are working to ensure Ukraine’s resilience,” he said.

High-level Ukrainian figures, including Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, are already in the US, planning ahead of Zelensky’s visit to the Oval Office on Friday.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s office, said they hoped for concrete decisions at Friday’s meeting.

During their phone call, Trump said Putin thanked the First Lady for her involvement in returning kidnapped Ukrainian children to their families.

“He was very appreciative, and said that this will continue,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Putin responded in writing to signal a “willingness to engage” with Mrs Trump, she said.

“Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children,” she said.

Eight children had been rejoined with their families, according to Mrs Trump.