President Trump is once again turning his attention to ending Russia's war on Ukraine after brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Ahead of a key White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Mr. Trump said during an address to Israel's legislature on Tuesday that ending the worst conflict in Europe since World War II was a top priority. 

"First we have to get Russia done," he said, looking at Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy who has been his main interlocutor with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We gotta get that one done."

Mr. Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday and said that they agreed during the call to meet in Budapest, Hungary, to see if they can bring the war to an end. That meeting will take place after high-level advisers for both presidents meet next week at a location still to be determined, Mr. Trump said.

"I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine," Mr. Trump posted on social media.

Putin has resisted pressure to hold direct talks

Mr. Trump made stopping the wars in Ukraine and Gaza a pillar of his 2024 reelection campaign, at one point saying he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. But, so far, he has been thwarted, sometimes blaming both sides but now increasingly directing his frustration at Putin as the Russian president continues to resist pressure to hold direct talks with Zelenskyy.

After previously blaming Zelenskyy for the war, Mr. Trump has talked about slapping new sanctions on Russia, calling it the "aggressor" — although he has so far stopped short of adding to the direct U.S. sanctions imposed by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India would stop buying Russian oil "within a short time." 

"Now I've got to get China to do the same thing," the president said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as part of his push to deprive Moscow of its vital energy income.

In the meeting on Friday, Zelenskyy is expected to repeat his plea for Mr. Trump to go beyond his focus on Russian energy and hit Russia with additional sanctions. For months, the U.S. has been helping Ukraine target Russian energy facilities to try to weaken Russia's economy and force Putin to the negotiating table, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Draft legislation lingering in the U.S. Senate would introduce hefty tariffs on countries buying Russia's oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Russia's biggest energy customers are China, India and Turkey.

Mr. Trump has not given it the green light, The Associated Press reported. But administration officials have gone through it in depth, making line edits and asking for technical changes, two officials with knowledge of the discussions between the Senate and the White House told the AP. That has been seen as a sign the president is getting more serious about making it law.

A Kremlin official said that if countries were prevented from buying Russian oil, "then the principles of free trade are being violated."

From Oval Office blowup to "brave man"

Since Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy's tumultuous Oval Office encounter in February, there has been a gradual thawing of relations between the leaders, as Mr. Trump has found his efforts at diplomacy continually frustrated by Putin.

Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy's friendliest and most recent meeting took place at the United Nations General Assembly in September, with Mr. Trump calling his counterpart a "brave man."

"We have respect for the fight that Ukraine is putting up," he said. "It's pretty amazing actually."

Mr. Trump also said in a social media post last month that Ukraine's forces were "in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form," with Europe's help – surprising Zelenskyy. Mr. Trump previously said that "some swapping of territories" might be necessary for a ceasefire.

Ukrainian officials have been quick to try to capitalize on the Trump administration's change in tone.

On Monday, Zelenskyy congratulated Mr. Trump on his Gaza peace plan in a social media post, adding: "We are working so that the day of peace comes for Ukraine as well. Russian aggression remains the last global source of destabilization, and if a ceasefire and peace have been achieved for the Middle East, the leadership and determination of global actors can certainly work for us, too."

On Thursday, meanwhile, the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv renamed a town square after Mr. Trump, with the local administration voicing hope that, "it will be Donald Trump who manages to make efforts to stop another major war … We believe that for this he could rightfully become a Nobel Peace Prize laureate."

"I don't know why he continues with this war"

Ukrainian officials have been in Washington, D.C., this week for bilateral discussions with U.S. counterparts, in an effort to cement the administration's sympathies with Ukraine.

Ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump has said he is considering selling Tomahawk long-range missiles to Kyiv. Zelenskyy has long sought the missiles, which could reach Moscow. Putin has called any U.S. transfer of such weapons a red line. 

A White House official said they were to discuss the Tomahawk issue in a phone call Thursday, but the president didn't mention it in his social media about the call after it happened.  

Mr. Trump said last week that he had told Zelenskyy he might give Putin an ultimatum: Hold serious peace talks, or Kyiv will get Tomahawks.

Russia has continued its deadly bombing attacks on Ukrainian civilians and targeting of the country's energy infrastructure in the meantime.

Asked Tuesday about the meeting with Zelenskyy and the grinding, three-year war, Mr. Trump seemed at pains to explain Putin's desire to keep fighting.

"Vladimir and I had a good relationship, probably still do," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "I don't know why he continues with this war … He just doesn't want to end that war."