A White House official told Politico that Trump is "optimistic" about achieving peace in Ukraine, describing the upcoming meeting as part of a coordinated weeklong effort by Ukrainian officials to refocus the administration's attention from the Middle East to the ongoing war with Russia."President Trump has long expressed his desire to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, just like he freed the hostages and ended the war between Israel and Hamas," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Friday's discussions will cover Ukraine's requests for Tomahawk missiles and additional armaments, air defense systems, energy infrastructure protection, and expanded cooperation on drone production, according to Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Olha Stefanishyna. Multiple Ukrainian delegations, including former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, have been in Washington since Monday preparing for the high-stakes meeting."This is a completely new format of engagement: military teams have been working for two weeks, the Prime Minister is engaging with financial partners to coordinate efforts," Stefanishyna told Politico.Zelenskyy appears eager to capitalize on the administration's diplomatic momentum. In an address to the Ukrainian nation Tuesday, he said there is "strong momentum for peace in the world now.""The U.S. president himself, his team did a lot, various leaders were also involved, they helped a lot," Zelenskyy said. "And now there are serious chances to live without war in the Middle East. This shows that Russia can really be pressured to stop aggression."The White House official argued that Russia's deteriorating military and economic position should motivate Moscow to negotiate. "As the President stated, the war hasn't been going well for Russia, whose economy is in shambles and who continue to lose thousands of lives to gain 'virtually no land,'" the official said. "The President remains optimistic that he will be able to get both sides to stop the senseless killing."However, Trump's optimism faces significant obstacles. Russia has been largely unresponsive to his peacemaking efforts, and Trump has far less leverage over Putin than he had over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Middle East negotiations. Putin is less reliant on the U.S. and more impervious to domestic political pressure than democratically-elected leaders.Trump has publicly acknowledged the possibility of providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine as leverage against Putin's refusal to engage in peace talks, though he has also expressed concern about escalation risks if Russia views expanded American weapons deliveries as deeper U.S. involvement in the war.Asked Tuesday about his upcoming meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump expressed frustration with Putin's determination to continue fighting. "Vladimir and I had a good relationship, probably still do," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I don't know why he continues with this war ... He's got to really settle this war ... He just doesn't want to end that war."Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy and lead negotiator, has told foreign counterparts that ending the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, along with securing a new nuclear deal with Iran, are the president's three major foreign policy goals for his second term. According to a person close to the national security team, "They recognized that Gaza was going to be the simplest of the three. But they're not giving up on the others. If anything, there's a sense that success will lead to more success."On Friday, October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with American leader Donald Trump in Washington.