No luck for Volodymyr Zelensky. On 17 October, the Ukrainian president met with his US counterpart Donald Trump. The goal: to obtain valuable long-range Tomahawk missiles, weapons that could prove crucial in the war in Ukraine.
Unfortunately for him, his request was denied by Washington, which wants to appease Russian President Vladimir Putin in the hope of convincing him to end the conflict. According to Zelensky, however, the prospect of Ukraine being equipped with the missiles did not go unnoticed, and may have motivated Putin to negotiate with Trump.
Indeed, the two heads of state are expected to meet in the near future, as diplomatic negotiations concerning the war in Ukraine struggle to bear fruit. While the date has yet to be set, the location has already been chosen: Budapest, Hungary. Ironically, the summit meeting, if confirmed, could create its own diplomatic incident: on European soil, Vladimir Putin is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and all European Union countries that have signed the Rome Statute are technically required to arrest the Russian leader. This includes Hungary, even though it has announced its withdrawal from the ICC, a decision that will take effect in June 2026.
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