President Trump's meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will take place amid a backdrop of tensions between the U.S. and Europe over trade and Ukraine.

Germany’s new leader is meeting President Donald Trump in Washington as he works to keep the U.S. on board with Western support for Ukraine, help defuse trade tensions that pose a risk to Europe’s biggest economy and further bolster his country’s long-criticized military spending.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet President Trump at the White House, where they are expected to discuss issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as tariffs and trade.

At least five people, including a one-year-old child, were killed in a Russian drone strike on the northern Ukrainian city of Pryluky overnight, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus said Thursday.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin intends to retaliate “very strongly” against Ukraine for a surprise drone strike on Russian airfields over the weekend, a declaration that provoked alarm in Washington and abroad even as Trump touted his efforts to bring peace to the region.

A Russian drone attack damaged apartment buildings in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, injuring 17 people, while killing five in the northern town of Pryluky, regional governors said early on Thursday.