Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
Talks to be held in Oval Office today after Trump said he would meet Putin in Hungary
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Vladimir Putin has warned Donald Trump not to give Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kyiv, hours before Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington DC for talks with the president on Friday.
The Ukrainian president had hoped to strengthen US support for Kyiv on Friday, after Trump appeared to harden his stance on Putin in recent weeks.
But this progress appears to have been undone after a two-hour Trump-Putin phone call which the US president afterwards described as “very productive” with “great progress”. Trump will now hold another in-person meeting with Putin in Budapest on an unspecified date.
The Kremlin said Putin had warned Trump that giving Kyiv Tomahawk cruise missiles – one of the most important upgrades in US support which Mr Zelensky has been seeking – would harm relations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Writing on X after landing in Washington, Mr Zelensky accused Moscow of “rushing to resume dialogue as soon as it hears about Tomahawks”.
The US president is set begin a flurry of diplomatic activity on Friday aimed at ending Russia’s invasion. After meeting Mr Zelensky and his officials, Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet with Russian officials next week, Trump said on Truth Social.
Donald Trump seemed receptive to the idea of giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles earlier this week.
The missiles would bolster Kyiv’s ability to strike deep into Russia.
But Vladimir Putin threw a curveball with a surprise phone call on Thursday, a day before Trump and Zelensky were due to meet in Washington.
Coming off the call, Trump revealed plans to meet with Putin in Budapest “within two weeks or so”.
He said that “high-level” advisers from both sides would meet next week. The aim, Trump said, was to bring an end to the war.
Without going into much detail, Trump said: “I thought it was a very good phone call. Very productive.”
Trump said that the topic of Tomahawks had come up, and that he had joked to Putin: “Would you mind if I gave a couple of thousands of Tomahawks to your opposition? [sic]”
He said Putin “didn’t like that idea”. Trump suggested the US couldn’t deplete its own reserves by giving them away.
German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday the planned Budapest talks between US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin are a second attempt to get Putin to negotiate seriously, but stressed that Ukraine must be involved in any decision.
Mr Wadephul made the remarks during his visit to Ankara, where he met his Turkish counterpart.
Ukraine has not been invited to the Trump-Putin talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet Trump later on Friday.
Volodymyr Zelensky will not wear a suit to the meeting, which comes eight months after he was infamously booted out of the Oval Office by the US president.
While Trump’s furious rant at Zelensky dominated the headlines, the Ukrainian war leader was also criticised for his choice not to wear a suit.
“He is all dressed up today,” said Trump sarcastically.
Right-wing journalist Brian Glenn said: “You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit… A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the dignity of this office.”
Zelensky retorted that he would wear a “costume” – the same word for “suit” in Ukrainian – once the war is over.
Zelensky has donned black, grey or khaki combat gear, and sweatshirts and polos with the Ukrainian national symbol since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Speaking to Politico, Elvira Gasanova, who designs the Damirli brand, one of Mr Zelensky’s signature looks, said the clothing “is a signal — ‘Ukraine is at war and I am part of this fight’”.
“The president shows that the war is still going on, that the country is still in a struggle.”
“Manipulating dress requirements is an act of domination,” Ukrainian fashion historian Zoya Zvynyatskivsk told the outlet. “Trump is a political bully, who does not disdain any opportunity to humiliate his opponent, to show him and the rest his place in the hierarchy.
“To paraphrase Churchill, if our man put on a tie to avoid public humiliation, he would receive the same humiliation — but in a tie. ‘Oh, I see you finally dressed like a man,’ Trump would say.”
The last time Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in August, he was accompanied by a large group of European leaders.
It came six months after the explosive Oval Office meeting which saw the Ukrainian president booted out of the White House. It was also just days after Trump met with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Zelensky was greeted warmly, with Trump promising a “reasonable” chance of ending Russia’s war with a commitment to US involvement in a peacekeeping force in Ukraine as a shield against further aggression.
Trump had Putin’s proposal for Ukraine to cede territory it controls, and before the August meeting, he appeared to pressure Zelensky to agree to the autocrat’s demands, claiming he could end the war “almost immediately, if he wants to.”
Trump, at an afternoon roundtable surrounded by top European officials, said they would be discussing “possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact.”
But since then, negotiations towards peace fell quiet, with Trump growing increasingly dismayed with Russia’s repeated attacks on Ukraine.
Here’s a recap of the August meeting.
Volodymyr Zelensky is staying at Blair House, the president’s official guest house often used by visiting foreign leaders.
There is a heavy security presence, with streets blocked off near the White House in the same way they were for Israeli prime minister Netanyahu’s visit earlier in the month.
Known as The President’s Guest House, Blair house is an official residence in Washington, DC, sometimes referred to as “the world’s most exclusive hotel”.
A Ukrainian flag is hanging from the residence to mark the Mr Zelensky’s visit. Outside the house is stationed a large white tent, presumably for security purposes.
Further away from the house is a ring of large trucks and police vehicles, preventing any cars from driving through towards Blair House.
We’ll be expecting to see some more movement in the area in the next few hours, when the Ukrainian president sets off for the White House to be greeted once again by Donald Trump.
He is due to arrive at 1pm local time (6pm UK time).
The European Union welcomes the proposed meeting between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if this can help bring peace in Ukraine, a spokesperson told a briefing on Friday.
Trump said Thursday he and Putin may meet within the next two weeks in Budapest, after a more than two-hour phone conversation he called productive. The Kremlin confirmed plans for the meeting, though neither side provided a date for when it would occur.
Volodymyr Zelensky wants Tomahawk missiles to smash Russia’s command and control of its war in his country. Donald Trump has said he’s tempted to sell them to Kyiv, which prompted the Kremlin’s chief extremist and former president Dmitry Medvedev to boast “that’ll end badly” for all – especially the US.
Why all the fuss?
Tomahawk missiles can fly up to a thousand miles (1,600km), carry almost half a tonne of explosives, can be guided onto targets in Russia, are accurate to within a few metres, and can loiter in the skies to dive on targets of opportunity. The US has this year launched Tomahawk against the Houthis in Yemen and against Iran to devastating but not strategic effect.
Ukraine has made its own long-range missile, the Flamingo, or FP-5. It can hit a target at 1,600 miles (3,000km) and carries over a tonne of explosives.
If Zelensky persuades Trump to sell European donors Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, it would be a huge military boost for Kyiv.
Our world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:
Volodymyr Zelensky has landed for his fourth face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, and his second in the past month.
A week ago, this would have been seen as a perfectly-timed meeting in Kyiv’s attempt to push Trump to ramp up pressure on Moscow. The US president has sounded increasingly dismayed with Moscow in the months since his face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
But after a phone call between the US and Russian presidents yesterday, Zelensky comes into this meeting a little less on the offensive than he initially hoped.
Trump hailed the “great progress” made in the phone call, and said he would be meeting with Putin in Budapest. The Kremlin said Putin had warned Trump against sending Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, and the US president sounds unlikely to do so.
Zelensky will now look to convince Trump that his Russian counterpart is not serious about peace. He has already taken to X to argue that Putin is resuming dialogue only to protect Russia from Tomahawks.
“Putin is certainly no braver than Hamas or any other terrorist,” he said.
“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.”
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in