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Zelenskyy to visit White House, expected to request air defense system

Trump meets Zelenskyy at the White House, weighing requests for air defense and missiles as he prepares talks with Putin on ending the Ukraine war.
Zelenskyy to visit White House, expected to request air defense system
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House today. Zelenskyy is expected to request air defense systems and Tomahawk missiles capable of reaching Moscow, and Trump has suggested he may provide them. Trump also said he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary to discuss ending the war.

The meeting with Zelenskyy comes one day after President Trump held a phone call with Putin.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Putin congratulated him and the United States on what he called the “great accomplishment of peace in the Middle East.” Trump suggested that success could help in future negotiations to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

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"I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine," Trump stated.

Trump said the two leaders spoke at length about future trade between the United States and Russia “when the war with Ukraine is over.”

According to Trump’s statement, high-level U.S. and Russian advisers are set to meet next week to lay the groundwork for the leaders’ summit. He said the U.S. delegation would be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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The meeting between Trump and Putin would be their second this year. The two last met in August in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, but that summit produced no breakthrough, and the conflict has continued.