Now that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, all eyes are on the next continuing global conflict: Russia and Ukraine.
President Donald Trump isn’t wasting any time directing his attention to the war in Ukraine, and is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House Friday as the president weighs arming Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Likewise, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday and said that high-level advisors for the U.S. and Russia will meet the following week. Subsequently, he said he and Putin would meet in Budapest, Hungary, ‘to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.’
Additionally, Trump said he believes that the Middle East deal could provide momentum to resolve the conflict in Europe.
‘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…I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,’ Trump said in a Thursday social media post.
While the new peace agreement in the Middle East shares some parallels with the conflict in Europe due to increased pressure on adversaries, the conflicts are too different for Gaza to serve as a clear blueprint for Ukraine and Russia, according to experts.
Rather, what the Middle East deal really does is pave the way for Trump to devote more of his energy to negotiating an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Whereas other foreign policy priorities were previously vying for Trump’s attention, now Ukraine and Russia are at the top of the list.
‘The U.S. president can turn his attention to only so many issues at one time,’ Peter Rough, a senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute think tank, told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday email. ‘Now that he has a framework in place in the Middle East, President Trump can train his sights squarely on the war in Ukraine.’
There are a lot of differences between the two conflicts — including the relative power between the two adversaries involved in each of the conflicts, experts said.
‘In the Middle East, Hamas was weaker than our ally in Israel,’ Rough said. ‘The challenge in Europe is that Russia is a major (nuclear) power astride the Eurasian landmass. It is larger and more powerful than our partner, Ukraine. This is why it’s so essential that the U.S. and Europe support Ukraine against Russia. Absent such support, it’s hard to convince Russia to accept a deal.’
The peace deal in the Middle East included a provision to return the hostages that were still in captivity within 72 hours of Hamas signing off on the deal. It also called for Israeli forces to withdraw its troops and a complete disarmament of Hamas.
John Hardie, Russia program deputy director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that another key difference between the conflicts is that Russia has refused to agree to a ceasefire unless Ukraine signs off on certain demands. Those demands previously have included barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO and concessions on some of the borders that previously belonged to Kyiv.
‘In the Gaza war, Israel got some significant concessions in the ceasefire deal but also agreed to leave some major issues to be negotiated in a political process,’ Hardie said in a Tuesday email to Fox News Digital. ‘In Ukraine, by contrast, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has consistently refused to accept a ceasefire unless Kyiv first capitulates to non-starter demands even though Russia has virtually no prospect of imposing them by force.’
Meanwhile, Trump is ramping up pressure on Russia and told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that he might send Ukraine Tomahawk cruise missiles should Russia refuse to ‘settle’ the conflict. Trump said he told Zelenskyy he may bring up the matter with Russia, because it is a ‘new step of aggression.’
The Tomahawk missiles can be fired from ships, submarines and ground assets to hit targets as far as 1,000 miles away, according to Raytheon, which manufactures the weapons.
Moscow did not welcome the news, and Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev said in a post on Telegram that outfitting Ukraine with the missiles ‘could end badly for everyone … most of all, for Trump himself.’
Despite Russia’s claims that such a move from the U.S. would escalate tensions, equipping Ukraine with the missiles would actually put Kyiv on equal footing to fight back against Russia, according to Mick Ryan, a senior fellow for military studies at Australia’s Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. Ryan is an Australian army retired major general who also served as a strategist for the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon.
‘Russia has employed missiles similar to Tomahawks since Day 1 of the full-scale invasion,’ Ryan said in a Monday X post. ‘This is NOT escalation. It is just leveling the playing field for a three-year-long Ukrainian long-range strike campaign that has now achieved critical mass and momentum.’
Zelenskyy said his Friday meeting with Trump would center around exerting more pressure on Russia in an attempt to secure peace through air defense and long-range capabilities. Additionally, Zelenskyy capitalized on the recent peace agreement in the Middle East, and said in a post on X Monday that ‘it is important not to lose the momentum in spreading peace.’
‘If I were Trump, I would focus my energies on supporting the Ukrainian military and pressuring Russia until Moscow signals it’s open to ending the war on more reasonable terms,’ Hardie said.
Zelenskyy has visited the White House on multiple occasions since Trump took office again — including in February when he sparred with Trump and Vice President JD Vance over engaging in diplomacy with Russia to end the conflict.
The White House said that Russia should prioritize securing a deal swiftly, and that Trump believes he can deliver one.
‘If they were smart, they would more urgently pursue a deal to end the war which has done significant damage to Russia’s reputation, stop the killing, and get their country back on the right track,’ a White House official said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘President Putin has repeatedly rejected generous proposals toward peace that would have benefited Russia. The President remains optimistic that he will be able to get both sides to stop the senseless killing.’
