The first interim success in the Middle East has apparently spurred him on. Now US President Donald Trump is intensifying his efforts for peace in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone for two hours and subsequently announced that he wanted to meet with Putin again – this time in Budapest.

Just last August, Trump had met with Putin in Alaska. This meeting failed to yield any progress toward peace in Ukraine. On the contrary, Russia subsequently intensified its attacks.

No exact date yet

Now, a new attempt is to be made in Budapest. Trump did not specify a precise date for the summit in Budapest on Thursday. The meeting with Putin will be prepared at a gathering of high-level advisors next week, Trump said on his online service Truth Social. The goal of the summit is to find out"whether we can bring this ignominious war between Russia and Ukraine to an end."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed his enthusiasm."Great news for all peace-loving people in the world," Orban posted on Platform X."We are ready," he wrote.

Trump described Thursday's phone call with Putin as"very productive." It represented "great progress." The conversation also addressed trade relations between the US and Russia following the intended end to the war in Ukraine. He was convinced that the"success in the Middle East," meaning the ceasefire agreement after two years of the Gaza war, would help in the negotiations on Ukraine, Trump said.

Tomahawk missiles as a topic

Tomorrow, Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be a guest at the White House.

His conversation with Trump will primarily focus on the possible delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles. These US missiles have a range of up to 2,500 kilometers and would enable Ukraine to launch strikes deep into Russian territory. The deal could be financed by NATO partners. The Kremlin had previously strongly warned the US government against such a delivery.

Meanwhile, overnight into Thursday, Russia again launched massive airstrikes on Ukraine. Power outages occurred throughout the country. Several gas infrastructure plants were temporarily shut down.

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• Donald Trump