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Upcoming: Trump-Putin Summit in Hungary

Posted by Europe correspondent on

17.10.2025 U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on October 16. Trump stated that the two leaders had a “very productive” call and that the two largely discussed potential bilateral economic prospects to pursue after a resolution to the war in Ukraine.

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Trump stated that the two agreed that there will be a high-level advisor meeting at an unspecified date next week between October 19 and 25, and an unspecified location with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio leading the U.S. delegation.

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Trump stated that he and Putin will then meet in Budapest to discuss a resolution to the war. Trump noted that he will discuss the contents of his October 16 phone call with Putin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Zelensky’s visit to Washington on October 17. Trump told reporters on October 16 that he will be meeting with Putin in “two weeks or so” and that Rubio will be meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “pretty soon.” Trump suggested that he, Zelensky, and Putin may coordinate “separate but equal” meetings. Trump stated that Putin “really did not like the idea” of the United States sending “a couple thousand Tomahawks” to Ukraine when Trump raised the question.

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Russian Presidential Aide Yuriy Ushakov attempted to obfuscate Russia’s deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in his statement on the October 16 Trump-Putin call. Ushakov claimed that the Trump-Putin call discussed how Ukrainian forces are allegedly using “terrorist methods” to strike civilian and energy infrastructure in Russia since Russia maintains the strategic initiative on the battlefield. Ushakov claimed that the Ukrainian strikes are “forcing” Russia to respond “accordingly.” Ukraine’s recent long-range strike campaign is targeting Russia’s energy sector in order to degrade Russia’s capacity to fund its war against Ukraine and to fuel its fighting forces. Russian forces, in contrast, have been deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure, including by conducting first-person view (FPV) drone strikes systematically targeting civilians in Kherson Oblast since late 2023, long predating Ukraine’s recent long-range strike campaign against Russian energy. Open-source investigative outlet Tochnyi reported on September 28 that Russian drone strikes have resulted in 2,877 Ukrainian civilian casualties in Kherson City alone since 2023.

Ushakov also claimed that U.S. Tomahawk sales to Ukraine would not affect the battlefield situation and would “significantly damage” bilateral US-Russia relations. Ushakov’s claims are a continuation of the Kremlin’s reflexive control campaign to deter US sales of Tomahawks to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, analysts from Military Chronicle estimate the U.S. arsenal of Tomahawk missiles at around 4,000 units across all variants. They calculate that striking major Russian targets — such as air bases, storage depots, or logistics hubs — would require between 30 and 60 missiles per target. However, they note that the effectiveness of a large-scale strike would likely be reduced by Russia’s air defense capabilities.

Even if Pentagon were to transfer its entire stock to Ukraine, the analysts estimate that only 65 to 90 targets could be hit. Such an operation, they argue, would be unlikely to change the course of the conflict but could dramatically escalate it, potentially on a global scale.

Experts also suggest that the United States is unlikely to supply more than 200 to 300 missiles to Ukraine, as Tomahawks remain critical to Washington’s own strategic planning for potential high-intensity conflicts with Moscow and Beijing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly stated Moscow’s position on the possible transfer of Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv: this would seriously damage relations between Russia and the United States. This was stated by the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to RIA Novosti.

“Well, you see, we did not reveal what exactly was discussed during the Anchorage meeting,” Putin stated. “We said that there is a general understanding from the United States and an understanding of the Russian side about where we can move and what can be done to resolve this conflict through peaceful means, and those are not simple issues.”

The Russian leader said he and Trump both agreed to “think about this issue” with their respective government officials.

“This is a complicated set of questions that requires a thorough review, but we’re still grounded in that discussion that took place in Anchorage,” Putin explained. “We don’t change anything here, and we still believe there is work to be done on all other sides, but we’re still within the framework of the agreements reached in Alaska.”

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