Ukraine’s future could hinge on a hastily arranged White House meeting Monday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings an extraordinary group of European leaders to show U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia.
The European leaders were excluded from Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday and are seeking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression by Moscow.
By arriving together, they hope to avoid a repeat of Zelenskyy’s February Oval Office meeting, when Trump scolded him for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. military aid. The meeting also tests America’s ties with its closest allies, after the European Union and the United Kingdom accepted Trump’s tariff hikes partly to secure his backing on Ukraine.
Monday’s gathering reflects both the progress and potential tensions that emerged from last week’s Alaska meeting, with European leaders descending on Washington in a rare, coordinated display of diplomatic force to protect Ukraine’s interests.
“It’s important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for all of Europe,” Zelenskyy said Sunday on X.
On the eve of the talks, however, Trump appeared to put pressure on Zelenskyy to make concessions, suggesting Ukraine could not reclaim Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote on social media late Sunday. “Remember how it started. No getting back Obama-given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post, saying, “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.” He added that peace must be lasting, unlike after Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea and part of eastern Donbas, which he said Putin later used as “a springboard for a new attack.”
The Alaska talks outlined possible contours for halting the war, but it remains unclear whether any terms would be acceptable to either Zelenskyy or Putin.
