On October 17, US President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House for talks focused on the War in Donbas and US military assistance.
The closed portion of the meeting lasted just under two hours, after which only Zelensky addressed the press, describing the discussion as productive. He confirmed that the two leaders had discussed the potential supply of long-range Tomahawk missiles but agreed not to issue public statements on the subject. Zelensky said the United States sought to avoid escalation and noted that such weapons would cause concern in Russia.
Trump later posted on Truth Social that he had urged both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop the killing and make a deal,” proposing a ceasefire along current front lines. Zelensky said he supported negotiations and was open to bilateral or trilateral meetings to pursue peace.
During the meeting, Trump also commented on a proposal raised the previous evening by Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev for a “Putin-Trump Tunnel” under the Bering Strait linking the United States and Russia. Dmitriev suggested that the 112-kilometer railway tunnel could be completed in under eight years, with potential involvement from Elon Musk’s Boring Company. Trump called the idea “interesting” and asked Zelensky’s opinion, to which the Ukrainian leader responded cautiously.
Following his discussions with Zelensky, Trump reiterated plans to meet Putin in Budapest, likely without Ukrainian participation. He mentioned that the two leaders “do not like each other” and that separate talks could be more productive.