US President Donald Trump, who has demonstrated a restored understanding with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, called on Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky last night to end hostilities, turning a deaf ear to the Ukrainian president's demands for increased military support, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"The meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was very interesting and cordial, but I told him, as I told President Putin, that it is time to end the killing and make a DEAL", Trump wrote on his social network "Truth Social", noting that the two warring parties should "stop where they are right now".
"Let them both announce victory, history will decide. Enough shooting, enough death," he added before flying to Florida.
Upon his arrival there, he repeated his appeal to journalists: Ukraine and Russia must "immediately stop at the current front line".
"Stop at the front line, wherever it is, or things will get too complicated," Trump said.
For his part, the Ukrainian president noted that for now his request for American "Tomahawk" missiles has been rejected.
"I think Russia is afraid of the "Tomahawk", really afraid, because it is a powerful weapon," Zelensky said at a press conference after his more than two-hour meeting with his American counterpart at the White House.
"I am a realist," Zelensky replied when asked if he hoped to receive this weapon.
Trump has already expressed reservations about the possible delivery of these missiles to Ukraine with a range of 1,600 kilometers, which Moscow categorically opposes.
"I hope that we will be able to end the war without having to think about the "Tomahawk", the American president told journalists, sitting across from his Ukrainian counterpart at a large table set for a working lunch.
These missiles would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory. During his meeting with Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky proposed exchanging missiles for "thousands" of Ukrainian drones. However, this did not convince the American president, nor did the "maps" of potential Russian targets that Zelensky showed him, a Ukrainian source reported.
The Ukrainian leader said that the Russian president was "not ready" for peace, but Donald Trump said the opposite during a conversation with journalists before their working lunch.
"President Putin wants to end the war," said the American president, who had a long phone conversation with the Kremlin boss on Thursday.
The Russian and American leaders agreed to meet soon in Budapest, Hungary, during a phone call that was described as "very productive" by the American side and "extremely frank and full of trust" on the Russian side.
In this context, the restored understanding of the US president with Vladimir Putin is a cause for concern for Kiev, especially after last night Trump presented Zelensky with a very positive assessment of his conversation with his Russian counterpart the day before.
However, the US president also found kind words for Volodymyr Zelensky. "A very strong leader, a man who has been through a lot and a man whom I have come to know well", he said of Zelensky. Trump's last meeting with Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska ended without a concrete breakthrough in settling the war in Ukraine. However, the US president did not carry out his threats of severe sanctions against Moscow, AFP points out.
After returning to power in January, Trump broke the isolation in which Western powers had kept Moscow since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and questioned military aid to Ukraine, AFP notes.