Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House for a third time on Friday as Donald Trump turns his attention from the Middle East to Ukraine.

The US President flew back to Washington DC on Monday after overseeing the return of Israel's hostages and a landmark peace deal.

But with another war still raging, Mr Trump could now move to ramp up the pressure on Vladimir Putin by handing Ukraine the power to fire US Tomahawk missiles.

The devastating weaponry would leave almost 2,000 Russian targets in Ukraine's firing line, with Mr Zelensky's troops for the first time able to strike deep inside Russia.

One of those targets could be Moscow, which is within their range - but Ukraine has insisted it would stick to military targets.

On Sunday, Mr Trump said green-lighting the missile deliveries would mark a "new step of aggression".

"I might say, look, if this war's not going to get settled, I'm going to send them Tomahawks," he warned.

"I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don't think so.

"I might tell [Vladimir Putin] that if the war is not settled, that we may very well do it."

Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump last met at the White House on August 18 with European leaders - and the pair will reunite on Friday

Just days ago, Mr Zelensky revealed he would back Mr Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if he sent Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine and helps broker a ceasefire with Russia.

But on Sunday, he confirmed that his American counterpart had not yet made up his mind on the Tomahawks.

According to analysis by the prestigious Institute for the Study of War, 1,945 "known Russian military objects" are inside the missiles' 2,500km range.

This includes 76 air bases, which Ukraine could hit in a repeat of the country's barnstorming attacks on Russian airports earlier this year.

Some 1,945 'known Russian military objects' are inside the Tomahawk missiles' maximum 2,500km range

Mr Trump could now move to ramp up the pressure on Vladimir Putin

A target specifically highlighted by the ISW could be a Shahed drone factory in Tatarstan, which pumps out the cheap drones that have blighted Ukraine's skies for more than three years.

If that gets hit, a new drone deal could even hand Ukraine the upper hand in the new realm of drone warfare/

Ukraine and the US are closing in on a drone deal in which Ukraine would share its technology with the United States.

European diplomats see such a deal as an important tool for keeping Mr Trump engaged and supportive of Ukraine, Reuters reports.

Kremlin spin doctor Dmitry Peskov has warned that the missiles (pictured) are of 'extreme concern' to Russia

But the Kremlin has long warned that the missile situtation is of "extreme concern" to Russia.

Spin doctor Dmitry Peskov said as much, but still managed to issue a veiled nuclear threat as he did so.

"Tensions are escalating from all sides," Mr Peskov said, and claimed Moscow would not be able to tell if the missiles were carrying nuclear warheads.

If they were barrelling towards Russian soil, "just how should Russia react?" he asked.