President Trump said Thursday he intends to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump made the announcement following a lengthy phone call with Putin.
“At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our High Level Advisors, next week. The United States’ initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with various other people, to be designated,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “A meeting location is to be determined.
“President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end,” he added.
Hungary is a member of the NATO alliance, but it has faced criticism in recent years for democratic backsliding under President Viktor Orbán, who is a close Trump ally.
Trump said he and Putin also discussed future trade between the U.S. and Russia once the war in Ukraine ends.
Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022 after amassing troops near the border.
The phone call took place the day before Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
“President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow, in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more,” Trump posted. “I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation.”
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin in recent weeks following their meeting in Alaska in August. That meeting yielded no concrete progress toward ending the war, and a proposed meeting between Putin and Zelensky has yet to materialize.
Trump has signaled in recent days that the United States may send long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, which would allow Ukrainian forces to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
The Kremlin has warned the move would escalate tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Trump pledged during the 2024 campaign that he would end the war in Ukraine before he even took office. But he has acknowledged the conflict has been more difficult than expected to settle.
Ukraine’s recently arrived ambassador to the U.S., Olga Stefanishyna, said in a statement on Thursday that Putin’s strategy in Ukraine is “one of terror and exhaustion” and said a major strike launched against Ukraine ahead of Trump’s call with Putin demonstrated the Russian leader is not interested in ending the war.
“While discussions about ending the war continue, Russia once again chose missiles over dialogue, turning this attack into a direct blow to ongoing peace efforts led by President Trump,” she said.
Ukraine said Russia launched one of its largest attacks of the year overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, with 37 missiles, including 28 ballistic missiles, and 320 drones in multiple directions. The strikes targeted five provinces in Ukraine, damaging facilities, injuring civilians and emergency workers, and hitting a Defense Forces training center.
“These assaults show that Moscow’s strategy is one of terror and exhaustion. The only effective response is pressure — through tougher sanctions, reinforced air defense, and the supply of long-range capabilities. The unity and determination of Ukraine’s partners will determine how soon this war ends,” Stefanishyna said.
—Updated at 4:49 p.m. EDT