After a controversial summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on Monday.
Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday afternoon to discuss an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began more than three years ago. The pair announced “great progress” had been made, but they still did not reach any kind of plan to end the war.
Trump told Fox News ahead of the meeting that he “won’t be happy” walking away without “some form of a ceasefire.” But Trump changed course early Saturday morning, writing on Truth Social that Ukraine and Russia should strive for a peace deal, rather than a ceasefire.
Trump spoke with Zelensky after the summit. The Ukrainian leader described the talk as a “long and substantive conversation.” Now he’s heading to the White House for a face-to-face meeting with the president.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of Trump’s meeting with Zelensky:
Trump to meet with Zelensky at the White House
Trump revealed he will meet with Zelensky in the Oval Office on Monday. European leaders are invited to join the meeting, two senior European officials told The New York Times.
Trump told Fox News on Friday he would advise Zelensky that he has “gotta make a deal” with Russia.
“Russia’s a very big power,” Trump added. “And they’re not.”
Trump said if “all works out,” he will meet with Putin again.
“The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO,” Trump wrote. “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
Several European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, said in a statement they were briefed on Trump’s meeting with Putin.
“We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We welcome President Trump’s statement that the U.S. is prepared to give security guarantees,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Zelensky said his call with Trump lasted more than 90 minutes.
“Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. President Trump informed about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion,” Zelensky said. “It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation.”
Zelensky said the U.S. should strengthen sanctions on Russia if there is “no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.”
Some Ukrainian leaders say they’re concerned about a peace deal coming before a ceasefire.
“In Putin’s view, a peace agreement means several dangerous things – Ukraine not joining NATO, his absurd demands for denazification and demilitarization, the Russian language and the Russian church,” Oleksandr Merezhko, leader of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told Reuters.
“Our vision is a ceasefire, and then everything else. Why? Because if we negotiate before a ceasefire, this creates a high risk of blackmail for Ukraine,” said Serhiy Leshchenko, an adviser to Zelensky’s chief of staff, according to CNN.
Putin wants Ukraine to give up key region: reports
In their meeting, Putin told Trump that Ukraine must withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions to end the war, the Financial Times reports, citing four people with direct knowledge of the discussion. These areas are within the Donbas, the name for Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
The move would give Russia control of a territory its forces have partially occupied for more than 10 years, according to the Financial Times. In exchange, Putin reportedly said he would freeze his frontline forces in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Trump then communicated this to Zelensky and European leaders, the Financial Times reports.
The New York Times also reports that Trump told European leaders he believed peace could be reached if Zelensky ceded the rest of the Donbas to Russia, including areas not occupied by Russian troops, two senior European officials told The New York Times. In exchange, Putin said he would ensure a ceasefire in the rest of Ukraine and make a written promise not to attack the nation again, the Times reports.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
When did Zelensky last meet with Trump?
Zelensky last met with Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials in the Oval Office in March. However, the meeting quickly devolved into chaos. Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three,” while Vance claimed the Ukrainian leader was “disrespectful” and “ungrateful.”
“You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump told Zelensky in March. “With us, you start having cards…you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
Brian Glenn, a correspondent for the conservative network Real America’s Voice, even asked Zelensky why he wasn’t wearing a suit to the Oval Office meeting. Vance smiled at the question.
“Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re at the highest level in this country’s office, and you refuse to wear a suit,” Glenn said.
“I will wear [a suit] after this war finishes. Maybe something like yours, maybe something better,” Zelensky retorted.
