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Donald Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday for the first time in two months, as the US president seeks to revive efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform during the call, which comes on the eve of his scheduled White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I am speaking to President Putin now. The conversation is ongoing, a lengthy one, and I will report the contents, as will President Putin, at its conclusion,” Trump wrote.
Since their August meeting in Alaska, the US president has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin and his refusal to end the war. This intransigence has prompted the US president to look at new ways to push the Russian leader to the negotiating table, including by floating the sale of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine — a long-range weapon that could reach Moscow.
“I’m very disappointed because Vladimir and I had a very good relationship, probably still do,” Trump said on Tuesday. “I don’t know why he continues with this war. This war has been so bad for him.”
Experts say the Tomahawk missiles are unlikely to be a game-changer on the battlefield, because the US cannot spare many of them and the required land-based launchers are in short supply.
But if Trump were to allow Nato allies to buy them for Kyiv it would send a strong signal to Moscow about Trump’s deepening support for Ukraine.
Since he returned to office, Trump has said he will not provide any new US military aid for Ukraine, seeking to shift the burden of the country’s defence on to Europe.
Several European countries have pledged to fund the purchase of weapons from US stockpiles to support Ukraine under the so-called PURL initiative. New announcements of arms deliveries under the initiative are expected this week.
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke twice over the course of last weekend, discussing the Tomahawks as well as strategies to bring the war to an end.
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko were in Washington this week for meetings with their US counterparts. “This week is Ukraine week,” said Ukraine’s ambassador to Washington, Olga Stefanishyna.
Friday’s meeting will be Zelenskyy’s third visit to the White House since Trump returned to office — and second since the February clash in the Oval Office, which marked a low point in US-Ukrainian relations.
But Trump has grown more sympathetic to Kyiv’s plight in recent months, criticising Putin for his continued air strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The two leaders are expected to discuss further sanctions on Moscow, long-range strikes into Russia and ways to bolster Ukraine’s air defence and energy sector, Stefanishyna said.
