On Sunday, 12 October, just a week ago, US President Donald Trump made another statement about the war in Ukraine. Talking in his well-known pompous way, Trump, while aboard Air Force One, warned Russia that it may consider deploying long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Moscow does not promptly resolve the ongoing conflict. “I might say,’ Look: if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to Israel. The statement followed a call between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which Trump indicated that he had mentioned the potential deployment of Tomahawk missiles during their conversation.
However, Trump changed his mind again – if he ever considered really helping to end this war.
The Ukrainian president travelled to Washington and met with Trump and others from the US defence sector to discuss, among other things, the supply of Tomahawk missiles, as Trump repeatedly said last week. However, the US president, before they met, announced a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Consequently, he refused to deliver the Tomahawks.
The timing and location of the meeting are only advantageous for Putin, as it was the meeting between the two in Alaska. It is also a challenge to the EU and NATO. Additionally, it is a blatant interference in Hungary’s political life, a few months before the critical 2026 parliamentary elections.
Trump, Ukraine and the EU
Since he became president for the second time, Trump has done everything to facilitate Vladimir Putin. First, he was as rude as possible – not difficult for him – when Zelenskyy visited the White House last February to sign a deal concerning rare earths. Trump, together with a “wild bunch”, including Vice President JD Vance, State Secretary Marco Rubio and others, performed an anti-Zelenskyy show, interrupting him, stopping him from sharing Ukraine’s views and telling him that the US would pull support if he didn’t sign the deal unconditionally. Reports say that Trump asked the Ukrainian delegation to leave and cancelled the press conference that was supposed to happen afterwards.
Trump stopped the provision of valuable detection services to the Ukrainian army, allowing the Russian troops to regain control of the Russian territories occupied by Ukrainian forces and advance in some areas of eastern Ukraine. Trump has his share of responsibility for the rise in the death toll he caused to Ukrainians, due to his unpredictable foreign policy.
He constantly undermined the role of European leaders in this war, not only downgrading NATO but also supporting pro-Russian politicians to seize power in EU member states, as in the cases of Germany, Romania and Bulgaria, among others. By choosing Budapest as the ideal place for his meeting with Putin, Trump once more interferes in an EU member state ahead of general elections. The proposed meeting is an attempt to help a political pariah like Viktor Orbán re-emerge on the international political scene. Supported by Russian disinformation channels, Orbán, who comes second in the opinion polls in Hungary, will try to win the 2026 elections again.
Trump invited and hosted Vladimir Putin, the main responsible for insecurity in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Middle East, in US territory, in Alaska, which favoured Putin and allowed him to demonstrate how well he mocks Trump. The meeting was a victory for Putin and a failure for Trump.
Now, by proposing a meeting with Putin in Budapest, he tries to advance him again at the cost of Ukraine and, as a consequence, of Europe, which is under threat by Russia. He will hold talks on the Ukraine war in EU territory without the participation of EU leaders and the Ukrainian president.
Hungary is, in fact, the ideal place for Trump’s plans: Orbán’s regime is as authoritarian as Trump dreams of making the US, and the Hungarian prime minister is fully aligned with Russian foreign policy, expressing aggressiveness towards Ukraine. Zelenskyy accused Hungary of allowing drones to cross into Ukraine last month. In response, the Hungarian prime minister said Ukraine is not a sovereign state.
For another time, Trump demonstrates his “curious” sympathy for Putin and his hostility towards the EU, its institutions and values. While villain and bully with the entire globe, Trump pretends not to understand when Putin mocks him in the face.
During the 2024 Prague Defence Summit held in November, Czech President Petr Pavel “profetically” expressed concerns regarding the prospect of Donald Trump reaching an agreement with Vladimir Putin. He warned that such a deal may not align with the best interests of the Czech Republic, Europe, or Ukraine.
