By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump was speaking on a call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday, a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s planned White House visit to seek more support in the war with Russia.
Zelenskiy will meet Trump on Friday to push for more military support, including potential long-range offensive missiles, as Kyiv and Moscow escalate their war with massive attacks on energy systems while NATO struggles to respond to a spate of Russian air incursions.
Trump and Putin were engaged in a long conversation on Thursday, according to a social media post by the U.S. president. The Kremlin also confirmed the call, according to Russia’s state RIA news agency.
“The conversation is ongoing, a lengthy one, and I will report the contents, as will President Putin, at its conclusion,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
UKRAINE WANTS TO EXPAND ATTACK RANGE
Ukraine is seeking U.S. Tomahawk long-range missiles, which would put Moscow and other major Russian cities within range of missile fire from Ukraine.
Trump, a Republican who has vowed to end the war that Russia started with its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over ongoing attacks. Trump has said he could supply the weapons to Ukraine if 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 on Thursday, Zelenskiy said. Kyiv has ramped up its own attacks on Russian targets, including an oil refinery in the Saratov region on Thursday.
Russia has been hitting Ukraine’s energy and power facilities for consecutive winters as the war drags into its fourth year.
In the latest warnings to Russia, Trump said on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged to stop buying oil from Russia, and that the administration would push China to do the same.
India has not confirmed any such commitment, though Reuters reported some Indian refiners are preparing to cut Russian oil imports, with expectations of a gradual reduction, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that Washington would “impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression” unless the war ends.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Colleen Jenkins and Rod Nickel)
