Trump, Zelensky see progress with Putin
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President Trump is weighing a meeting in the coming weeks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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© Greg Nash and Associated Press
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The news comes after Trump on Truth Social touted a “highly productive” meeting between Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Later in the day, Zelensky said Russia appeared to be more open to a ceasefire agreement.
“Russia now seems to be more inclined toward a ceasefire — the pressure is working. But the key is to ensure they don’t deceive anyone in the details — neither us, nor the United States,” Zelensky said during an address.
Trump raised the idea of meeting with the two leaders during a call with European allies on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Hill. It was not immediately clear when or where the meeting might happen, or if it had been agreed to by all parties.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Russia had expressed an interest in meeting with Trump.
“As President Trump said earlier today on TRUTH Social, great progress was made during Special Envoy Witkoff’s meeting with President Putin,” Leavitt said in a statement. “The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky. President Trump wants this brutal war to end.”
The New York Times first reported that Trump was aiming to meet with Putin and Zelensky as soon as next week.
Zelensky posted on X earlier Wednesday that he’d spoken with Trump following Witkoff’s meetings in Russia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday afternoon that Russia and Ukraine still need to move closer on their demands for a peace deal before the meeting with Trump can go ahead.
“If we can get what the Ukrainians will accept and what the Russians will accept close enough, then I think there’s the opportunity for the president to have a meeting that includes both Putin and Zelensky to try to close this thing out,” he added. “So, we’ve got to get closer in that regard.”
The Trump administration is set to impose additional sanctions on Russia later this week, and the White House on Wednesday announced it would double tariffs on India over its continued purchase of Russian oil, which it said was fueling Moscow’s war machine
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:
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Rubio suggests Russia, Ukraine not ready for Trump meeting
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Wednesday that Russia and Ukraine are not ready for a meeting with President Trump as the war between the two countries rages on. “I think what we have is a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be prepared to end the war,” Rubio told Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow on his show. “We now have to compare that to what the Ukrainians and our European allies, …
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5 soldiers shot at Fort Stewart; suspect in custody
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Five U.S. soldiers were shot Wednesday morning at Fort Stewart, Ga., before the shooter was apprehended, Army officials have confirmed. The incident, which took place in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area, caused a base-wide lockdown that lasted just more than an hour. Parts of the installation, including the area where the shooting took place, remained under lockdown as of 1 p.m., officials said in a social media post. …
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Pentagon seeks to slash red tape for mass drone production
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The Trump administration is slashing red tape to quickly equip troops with more small, easily replaced drones in a bid to keep up with the likes of Russia and China, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer told NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer in an exclusive interview. Emil Michael, the under secretary of Defense for research and engineering, said the U.S. is speedily moving to reduce bureaucratic barriers and expand the quantities …
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Russia breaks self-imposed freeze on intermediate-range missiles
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Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter{beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Russia breaks self-imposed freeze on intermediate-range missiles Russia said it will no longer be bound by a self-imposed restriction on the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles. © APMoscow justified its move by pointing to efforts by the U.S. and …
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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DHS transfers FEMA staff to ICE amid hurricane season
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is temporarily transferring personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) just ahead of the peak of hurricane season as it seeks to speed hiring for immigration officers. DHS is detailing roughly 100 people from FEMA’s human resources and …
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Upcoming things we’re watching in and around the defense world:
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Government Executive Media Group will hold a Defense One DOD Cloud Workshop, with former Deputy Defense CIO Danielle Metz, and Adarryl Roberts, CIO of the Defense Logistics Agency, at 8 a.m.
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The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will have a virtual discussion on “Nuclear command and control,” with Air Force Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, commander of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, at 10:30 a.m.
- The Center for a New American Security will host a talk on “U.S. Strategy for Conflict Prevention in Syria,” at 1 p.m.
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Government Executive Media Group and the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center will hold an online conversation on “Intersection of Quantum, AI, and Security,” at 1:30 p.m.
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News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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- VA severs ties with most federal unions, terminating worker contracts (Military Times)
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Trump names himself chair of L.A. Olympics task force, sees role for military during Games (Los Angeles Times)
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With only one nuclear arms pact left between the US and Russia, a new arms race is possible (The Associated Press)
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Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:
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America is prepared for a strike on our nuclear weapons
- The ‘Art of the Deal’ author keeps getting out-negotiated by Putin and Xi
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The BOOTS Act is protectionism masquerading as patriotism
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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!
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