by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
KYIV/BUDAPEST/BRUSSELS (Worthy News) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he would be ready to attend a planned summit in Budapest between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin if formally invited.
“If I am invited to Budapest – if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three, or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy, President Trump meets with Putin and President Trump meets with me – then in one format or another, we will agree,” Zelenskyy told reporters.
Trump and Putin are expected to meet in the Hungarian capital in the coming weeks as the U.S. president pushes to broker a peace deal to end the three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
However, Zelenskyy voiced criticism of the choice of Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been accused of obstructing European aid to Kyiv and maintaining warm ties with Moscow.
“I do not believe that a prime minister who blocks Ukraine everywhere can do anything positive for Ukrainians or even provide a balanced contribution,” Zelenskyy said.
The comments came as EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described the possible visit of Putin – who faces an international arrest warrant – to an EU member state as “not nice.”
Speaking before a meeting of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Kallas said that while Washington’s peace efforts were welcome, it was essential that Zelenskyy also meet with the Russian leader.
TRUMP FLOATS DIVIDING DONBAS
The diplomatic tensions followed Trump’s controversial weekend comments suggesting that the war might be ended by “cutting up” Ukraine’s Donbas region and leaving most of it to Russia. “Let it be cut the way it is,” Trump told reporters, adding that “they can negotiate something later on down the line.”
The remarks came after a tense White House meeting in which Trump reportedly pressed Zelenskyy to give up swaths of territory to secure a cease-fire.
Amid the uncertainty, Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine plans to acquire 25 Patriot air-defense systems over several years. He said the systems would be delivered annually and that Kyiv was urging European partners to prioritize Ukraine in the production queue.
Patriot systems are considered among the few capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, which travel several times faster than the speed of sound.
Zelenskyy added that he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron about further measures to pressure Moscow. “Pressuring the one who started the war is the key to a denouement,” he wrote on social platform X, saying both leaders had agreed to meet soon.
As diplomatic efforts continue, Europe remains divided over how to balance sanctions and peace talks. Trump’s proposed summit in Hungary – a country viewed as the most Kremlin-friendly EU member – has already exposed deep fissures within the bloc.
The summit’s outcome, observers say, could shape the future of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, European unity, and the global response to Russian aggression.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
U.S. Vice President JD Vance voiced optimism Tuesday that the fragile Gaza ceasefire would endure, even as he warned Hamas of total destruction should it fail to disarm under President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has arrested more than 480,000 illegal immigrants in the past nine months — with 70% of them convicted of crimes or facing criminal charges — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday.
French authorities said Tuesday that crown jewels stolen in a daring daylight heist at the Louvre Museum over the weekend are worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) — excluding their immense historical value to France.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that American airstrikes had wiped out Iran’s nuclear industry, telling the president to “keep dreaming.”
Concerns mounted Monday over the fate of a bishop and 12 clergymen of the Armenian Apostolic Church who were detained amid a deepening standoff between church leaders and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government — a dispute unfolding as Christians in the region face growing pressure.
Ukraine and its key European allies have declared that any negotiations to end the war with Russia must be based on the current line of contact, rejecting Moscow’s territorial demands, as doubts grow over a planned summit between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Two San Antonio pastors are speaking out after their churches were vandalized over the weekend amid nationwide “No Kings” protests targeting the Trump administration.