Zelenskyy urges Trump to pressure Putin, says 'I’m ready' for Budapest talks
WASHINGTON, DC: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged President Donald Trump to take a tougher stance against Vladimir Putin. He said that more pressure is needed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News's 'Meet the Press' on Friday, October 17, Zelenskyy said that Trump’s efforts in brokering the Gaza ceasefire showed that he had the leverage and diplomatic strength to influence Putin.
“Putin is something similar but more strong than Hamas,” Zelenskyy said.
“The war is bigger and Russia’s army is the second biggest in the world, and that’s why more pressure is needed,” he added.
Zelenskyy says that Putin is ‘afraid’ of US Tomahawks
Zelenskyy left Washington without securing the long-range Tomahawk missiles he had sought, weapons capable of striking deep inside Russia.
While Trump had earlier floated the idea of supplying them, he allegedly stopped short of making any commitment during their White House meeting on Friday, one day after a phone call with Putin.
“Good that President Trump didn’t say ‘no,’ but for today, didn’t say ‘yes,’” Zelenskyy said.
Putin had reportedly warned that sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would mark a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.” Zelenskyy countered that the Russian leader’s warnings only underscored his fear.
Putin is "afraid that the United States will deliver us Tomahawks,” Zelenskyy said. “And I think that he is really afraid that we will use them.”
Trump, following his conversation with Putin, announced he would meet the Russian president in Budapest, Hungary, for a second round of in-person talks aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy wants to meet Putin and Trump in Budapest
Despite calling Putin a “terrorist,” Zelenskyy reiterated his willingness to meet him face to face if it meant moving toward a “just and lasting peace.”
“If we really want to have just and lasting peace, we need both sides of this tragedy,” he said. “How can there be some deals without us about us?”
Asked if he was prepared to attend the proposed Budapest talks, Zelenskyy replied, “I’m ready.”
Trump’s previous efforts to bring both leaders together faltered when the Kremlin rejected the US's overtures for a trilateral peace meeting.
Zelenskyy’s US visit came amid intensified Russian airstrikes targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Drone and missile attacks have reportedly caused blackouts across the country, as Ukraine carries out retaliatory strikes against Russian energy facilities to increase economic pressure on the Kremlin.
“We are not losing this war, and Putin is not winning,” Zelenskyy asserted.
“He really escalates airstrikes.... he's using missiles and drones on our — he wants disaster — energy disaster during this winter by attacking us,” he added.
Trump calls for a ceasefire and ‘deal’
Following his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump posted on Truth Social that both sides should “stop where they are,” urging an immediate halt to the fighting.
“It is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL,” Trump wrote.
The meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was very interesting, and cordial, but I told him, as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it is time to stop the killing, and make a DEAL! Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by…
— Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 17, 2025
Russia currently reportedly occupies around 44,600 square miles, or about 19% of Ukrainian territory, according to open-source battlefield maps.
Asked if he would consider ceding territory for peace, Zelenskyy firmly said, “If we want to stop this war and to go to peace negotiations urgently and in diplomatic way, we need to stay where we stay, not to give something additional to Putin.”
