US President Donald Trump again expressed his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine as he prepared to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House later this week.
“I’m very disappointed, because Vladimir and I had a very good relationship. Probably still do,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I don’t know why he continues with this war.”
Trump said it is making Putin look “very bad” that he does not appear to want to end the conflict with Ukraine, adding, “He could end it. He could end it quickly.”
Zelenskyy is expected to discuss Ukraine’s air defense and long-range strike capabilities when he meets Trump on October 17 at the White House. The leaders spoke twice over the weekend amid intensifying discussions about a potential US decision to provide long-range Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv.
“He wants weapons. He would like to have Tomahawks,” Trump said, referring to Zelenskyy in his comments to reporters on October 14.
Trump has not ruled out supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers and can be equipped with nuclear warheads. The Kremlin has warned against supplying Ukraine with the weapon.
Members of Ukraine’s government are already in Washington ahead of Zelenskyy’s arrival and on October 14 met with top US officials.
“At every meeting in Washington we raise the topic of defending Ukrainian energy and supporting our resilience over the winter and ways to defend it,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Telegram.
She described the priorities of her visit as “energy, sanctions, and the development of cooperation with the USA in new ways that can strengthen both our countries.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukrainian sovereignty and emphasized the United States’ dedication to securing a lasting, durable peace” according to a US Treasury Department statement.
Bessent also thanked Svyrydenko for supporting the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which the Ukrainian prime minister was instrumental in helping set up earlier this year as part of a deal to give Washington preferential access to Ukrainian minerals in exchange for investment.
Svyrydenko is accompanied by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, and a team of officials from the government, central bank, and other bodies.
Their meetings in Washington took place as authorities in northeastern Ukraine ordered the evacuation of families from dozens of villages near the city of Kupyansk, citing the “worsening security situation.”
Oleh Synyehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said on Telegram that a total of 409 families with 601 children were told to leave 27 localities.
Another official in the affected area later told public broadcaster Suspilne that the list of localities had been expanded to 40.
Kupyansk has been under Russian attack for months as Moscow’s forces push westward through central and eastern Ukraine.
