Trump to speak with Putin as Russian strikes pound Ukraine before Zelenskyy meeting

President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, one day ahead of his in-person meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in D.C.

Trump suggested he would speak with the Kremlin chief earlier this week after reports first emerged that the Ukrainian president was planning a U.S. trip in an effort to secure long-range precision-guided Tomahawk missiles. 

Acquiring Tomahawk missiles is a top priority for Zelenskyy, as the sophisticated weaponry would be able to reach far beyond Moscow and could change Ukraine’s ability to hit not only more of Russia’s military complex but its oil industry, which largely funds its war chest.

Firefighters work at the site where an energy infrastructure enterprise was hit during overnight Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Poltava region, Ukraine Oct. 16, 2025.  (Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Poltava region/Handout via REUTERS)

TRUMP THREATENS TO ‘SPEAK’ WITH PUTIN ON GIVING UKRAINE TOMAHAWK MISSILES AS RUSSIA HITS HOSPITAL

The announcement for the Trump-Putin call comes just hours after Russian missile and drone strikes pounded Ukrainian cities and energy sites in the early hours of Thursday morning.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said more than 300 drones and 37 missiles, of which a “significant number of them ballistic” rained out across the country, hitting not only near the front lines but the western-central city of Vinnytsia.

“There are wounded. Recovery efforts are underway everywhere. Emergency services are working,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Russians are also reported to be using “double terror” tactics by targeting firefighters and energy workers with Shahed drones carrying cluster munitions. 

President Donald Trump greets Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. On Friday, Putin praised Trump’s peacemaking efforts despite him not winning the Nobel Peace Prize.  (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press)

KREMLIN WARNS IT ‘COULD END BADLY FOR EVERYONE’ IF US SUPPLIES UKRAINE LONG-RANGE MISSILES

“This autumn, the Russians use every single day to strike at our energy infrastructure,” he added. “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has turned a deaf ear to everything the world says, so the only language that can still get through to him is the language of pressure – pressure through sanctions and pressure through long-range capabilities.”

Zelenskyy is traveling to D.C. on Thursday to meet with President Donald Trump, as well as defense and energy officials, to discuss how to ramp up the pressure on Putin in an effort to counter his war ambitions in Ukraine. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) meets with US President Donald Trump (R) in Washington D.C., United States on Aug. 19, 2025.  ( Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Trump told reporters this week that other defensive items, like more Patriot missiles, will be discussed in the Friday talks as well. 

Trump has not confirmed whether he will give Ukraine the Tomahawk missiles, but he has increasingly voiced his frustration that Putin will not stop his war ambitions despite his efforts since re-entering the White House in January. 

Fox News’ Nick Rojas contributed to this report.