Gaza ceasefire raises hopes for end to Ukraine war, Zelenskyy tells Trump

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday that the recent Gaza ceasefire has given momentum to hopes of a similar end to the war in his country.

Mr Trump has turned his attention to ending the Russia-Ukraine war, which is approaching its fourth year, after a fragile ceasefire agreement was reached in the war between Israel and Hamas.

"We need a ceasefire," Mr Zelenskyy said. "Even now, you see in the Middle East, it's very difficult to hold ceasefire everywhere in every war, it's very difficult. We want this, Putin doesn't want, that's why we need pressure on it."

Mr Zelenskyy was speaking during a meeting with Mr Trump and senior members of his cabinet over lunch at the White House, a day after Mr Trump had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced the two would be holding a meeting soon.

"We want it ended," Mr Trump said. "So many people have died in this war, and we're going to get it ended."

In a post on his Truth Social network after leaving the White House for the weekend, Mr Trump said the meeting was "very interesting" and "cordial", and that he had pressed the Ukrainian leader to make a deal with Mr Putin.

"They should stop where they are. Let both claim victory, let history decide! No more shooting, no more death, no more vast and unsustainable sums of money spent," he wrote.

Mr Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters outside the White House, said it was a "long, long meeting", and that he would speaking again with Mr Trump in a week or so.

"I think that Russia is afraid about Tomahawks, really afraid, because it's a strong weapon, and they know what we have, what kind of weapon we have our production," he said.

"They understand what we can do."

This is Mr Zelenskyy's third visit to the White House since Mr Trump took office this year. The meeting is expected to focus on whether the US will agree to sell Kyiv Tomahawk cruise missiles – long-range weapons that would allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory.

Mr Zelenskyy has long sought such weapons, saying it is the only way to pressure Russian into ending the war. Mr Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, voiced concern that giving Ukraine long-range weapons could provoke a direct US–Russia confrontation.

American officials have also said that such a move would deplete US stocks of the weapons.

"We need Tomahawks, or we need a lot of other weapons that we're sending to Ukraine," Mr Trump said. "One of the reasons we want to get this war over is exactly that."

Mr Zelenskyy said that he would propose trading US Tomahawks with military drones that Ukraine manufactures.

Mr Trump said "we would", in response to a question whether the US would be interested in such a trade.

Russia has warned that such transfers would be a “red line” and would raise the risk of confrontation with another nuclear power.

The visit comes a day after Mr Trump said he held a "very productive" phone call with Mr Putin, and announced that the two will meet in Budapest to try to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Donald Trump says Ukraine can reclaim all territory from Russia with Nato’s backing

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A meeting of high-level advisers, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is expected to take place next week.

Mr Zelenskyy's visit comes amid renewed Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including a large-scale attack on eastern Ukraine that hit gas plants, causing widespread power cuts.

After a pause in early July, the US has resumed sending weapons to Ukraine worth $330 million.

Shipments have included 155mm artillery shells and several rocket launcher systems known as GMLRS, as well as other weapons systems.

During the meeting, Mr Zelenskyy was also expected to continue to urge the US to impose more economic sanctions on Russia, something Mr Trump has so far been reluctant to agree to.

The two leaders have had strained relations in the past. Mr Trump attacked the Ukrainian leader on his first visit in February, accusing him of being disrespectful and ungrateful to the US.

But last month, he said Ukraine could reclaim all of the territory seized by Russia. The shift came amid frustration with Mr Putin, who he invited to a summit in Alaska in August that ended without a deal.