A delegation of European leaders have begun arriving at the White House shortly ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet with their US counterpart Donald Trump.
Zelensky and the European leaders are visiting the White House three days after Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Seven European leaders rushed to fly to Washington, DC, to support Zelensky in the high-stakes meeting. They include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Frederich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Subb, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Zelensky is expected to be weighing giving up territory to Russia in exchange for promises of its future security from the US.
The Ukrainian president has insisted that he will not give up land, but Trump’s meeting with Putin, which ended with the two apparently agreeing on several points, puts the pressure on him. Trump has leaned toward Putin’s demand that Ukraine give up some of its territory for a peace deal.
Zelensky is visiting the White House for the first time since February, when his Oval Office meeting with Trump became a shouting match with the administration asking him to leave and casting him as ungrateful.
The European delegation scrambled to make quick arrangements to travel across the Atlantic in part to avoid another breakdown in talks between Zelensky and Trump.
Ahead of arriving in the White House, Zelensky slammed Russian overnight strikes on the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia that killed 10 people and left dozens of others injured.
‘This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike,’ wrote Zelensky on X.
‘They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war. We will have a discussion with President Trump about key issues.’
Earlier on Monday, Zelensky met with Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.
‘We discussed the battlefield situation and our strong diplomatic capabilities – Ukraine’s and all of Europe’s together with America,’ wrote Zelensky on X.
‘Russia can only be forced into peace through strength, and President Trump has that strength.’
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin has spent the day calling leaders of Brazil, India, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and South Africa, on what happened at the Alaska summit.
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