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 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Republicans have received a major boost in the battle for House control after a series of court rulings dramatically shifted the redistricting landscape ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the war against Iran is “not over,” declaring that Israel and its allies must ensure Tehran’s remaining enriched uranium and nuclear-enrichment infrastructure are removed or dismantled before the threat can be considered neutralized.
British paratroopers and military medics were deployed to the world’s most remote inhabited island after a suspected hantavirus case linked to a deadly cruise ship outbreak triggered international health concerns.
The United States endured its worst spring drought on record last month, with more than 60% of the lower 48 states experiencing moderate drought or worse conditions, according to federal monitoring agencies. The rapidly intensifying crisis is raising concerns over food prices, agricultural production, and an already severe wildfire season stretching across multiple regions of the country.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Iran rejected each other’s latest peace proposals aimed at ending the 10-week war, sending the U.S. dollar higher against major currencies as investors sought safety amid renewed Middle East uncertainty.
A tense calm settled over Moscow Sunday after Russia’s annual Victory Day Parade was overshadowed by fears of Ukrainian drone and “terror attacks,” with the Kremlin reportedly increasingly concerned about the security of President Vladimir Putin following a rare strike on the Russian capital.
Senior Trump administration official Ambassador Monica Crowley declared this week that the American public will soon receive concrete evidence supporting President Donald Trump’s claim that he won the 2020 presidential election in a landslide — a statement that signals the administration is moving from assertion to action on one of the most contested issues in recent American political history.