Overview
- After a tense White House meeting, Trump declined for now to provide Tomahawk long‑range missiles to Ukraine, calling them escalatory and saying U.S. stocks are needed.
- Zelensky pressed for Tomahawks, showed target maps and floated a drones‑for‑missiles trade, later saying Trump neither approved nor definitively ruled out the request.
- Trump plans to meet Putin in Budapest within weeks following their phone call, with formats still to be determined; Zelensky has signaled readiness to engage to secure a ceasefire.
- The Washington Post reported Putin asked that Ukraine cede Donetsk as a condition to end the war; Trump has publicly disputed that Donetsk was discussed.
- European leaders are coordinating new sanctions and exploring a Russian‑asset‑backed loan to buy weapons for Kyiv, as Ukraine faces an urgent €2 billion winter gas funding gap after strikes slashed domestic production.