US President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to another summit to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, one day before the US president was due to speak with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Trump said he and the Russian president would soon meet in Budapest after a more than two-hour-long phone call he described as productive.
The Kremlin did not immediately comment.
The surprise development came as Mr Zelensky was headed to the White House tomorrow to push for more military support, including potential long-range offensive missiles.
Yet the positive tone following the US-Russia call appeared to leave in question the possibility of such support in the near term.
Energy systems targeted
Ukraine and Russia have been escalating their war with massive attacks on energy infrastructure while NATO struggles to respond to a spate of Russian air incursions.
The Trump-Putin meeting will follow lower-level talks between Russia and the US next week, Mr Trump said.
No date was provided for the leaders’ meeting.
Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet Donald Trump in the White House tomorrow
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he would brief the Ukrainian president on the Russia talks in the Oval Office tomorrow.
“I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” he added.
Ukraine wants to expand attack range
Ukraine has been seeking US Tomahawk long-range missiles, which would put Moscow and other major Russian cities within range of missile fire from Ukraine.
Mr Trump, who has vowed to end the war that Russia started with its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, had before expressed increasing frustration with Mr Putin over ongoing attacks.
The US leader has said he could supply the long-range weapons to Ukraine if Mr Putin fails to come to the negotiating table.
In its latest barrage, Russia launched more than 300 drones and 37 missiles to target infrastructure across Ukraine in overnight attacks, Mr Zelensky said.
Ukraine has ramped up its own attacks on Russian targets, including an oil refinery in the Saratov region.
Russia has been hitting Ukraine’s energy and power facilities for consecutive winters as the war drags into its fourth year.
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