Trump 2nd term updates: Trump excludes low-value shipments from looming tariffs

President Donald Trump is preparing for a high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday as the two begin negotiations regarding security guarantees and "crucial" aid for Ukraine.

Kyiv is maneuvering to win a U.S. security agreement as part of the proposed minerals deal, a "preliminary framework" of which Ukraine has been working on, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday.

But Trump said he would not offer any security guarantees to Ukraine "beyond very much," as part of any agreement. "We're going to have Europe do that," he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

The negotiations come amid tensions over the war with Trump attacking Zelenskyy earlier this month, calling the Ukrainian president a "dictator without elections."

Trump said Wednesday that he expects to sign the minerals deal with Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday, adding that his administration is "happy" with the deal. Trump has framed the agreement as a means to recoup American wartime aid to Ukraine.

Employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from probationary members to seasoned ones, were given layoff notices Thursday.

It is unclear how many NOAA staffers have been fired, however U.S. House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Jared Huffman D-Calif., claimed it is more than 1,000.

"People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information. Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives," he said in a statement.

-ABC News' Ginger Zee

The White House hosted more than a dozen conservative influencers for policy briefings Thursday with top administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FBI Director Kash Patel, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

Attendees at the meeting included Rogan O'Handley, Collin Rugg, Isabel Brown and Scott Presler.

Axios first reported on the briefings.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was asked if he agreed with President Trump's belief that Russia's Vladimir Putin will "keep his word" on a Ukraine deal.

"I think my views on Putin are pretty well rehearsed and pretty well known," Starmer said. "My concern is that if there's a deal, and I hope there is a deal, that it is a lasting deal ... That's why I think it's really important that Putin knows that this deal -- a historic deal which I very much hope comes about -- is there, is there and it's a lasting deal and we're able to deal with any inclination he has to go again or go further."