Donald Trump has agreed to a last-minute meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, despite previously criticizing him on the U.S. campaign trail. The Republican presidential candidate announced at a press conference that Zelensky would visit Trump Tower on Friday, just days after Trump condemned the Ukrainian leader for not "making a deal" with Moscow.
Initially, Trump's campaign indicated that a meeting between the two leaders was unlikely, but the former president appears to have changed his stance. The relationship between Trump and Zelensky has been rocky, dating back to Trump's 2019 impeachment, which stemmed from allegations that he pressured Zelensky to investigate the Biden family. A transcript of their phone call revealed that Trump had encouraged Zelensky to look into Joe Biden and his son.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Trump has often echoed Moscow's rhetoric about the war. During a presidential debate in September, he avoided answering whether he wanted Ukraine to win the conflict. However, while announcing the upcoming meeting with Zelensky, Trump repeated his claim that he could broker a deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky "quite quickly." When pressed, Trump declined to share details of his plan or clarify whether he believed Ukraine should cede territory to Russia to end the war.
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"It's a tragedy what's happening in Ukraine. So many deaths, so much destruction—it's horrible," Trump said in New York on Thursday. That night, he shared a screenshot of a text message from Zelensky, relayed by Ukraine's deputy ambassador to the U.S., in whic
h the Ukrainian president requested a meeting, stating that "personal contact" was vital for mutual understanding.
The meeting comes at a time of heightened tension between Zelensky and the Republican Party, as the U.S. presidential election approaches. Some Republicans were upset by Zelensky's recent visit to an arms factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania—President Biden's hometown—accompanied by top Democrats, including Governor Josh Shapiro. Leading Republicans criticized the visit as a partisan event, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson accusing Zelensky of aiding Democrats and calling it "election interference."
Trump has increasingly voiced opposition to continued U.S. financial support for Ukraine, intensifying his attacks on Zelensky by calling him the "greatest salesman on Earth." Meanwhile, Zelensky recently told *The New Yorker* that he believes Trump "doesn't really know how to stop the war." When asked about Zelensky's remark on Thursday, Trump responded, "I think he's mistaken. He doesn't know me."
Earlier on Thursday, Zelensky met with U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to discuss his "victory plan," aimed at pressuring Russia into a diplomatic resolution. Biden also announced an additional $7.9 billion in military aid for Ukraine.
As Zelensky was in the U.S., Russian drone attacks continued in Ukraine. On Thursday night, three people were killed and 14 others injured in a Russian drone strike on Izmail, a port city on the River Danube. Among the wounded were two boys, aged three and 13, and a 14-year-old girl. Romania, a NATO member, reported that one of the Russian drones may have briefly crossed into its territory during the attack.
