Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Washington, D.C., to meet with President Donald Trump and a group of European leaders to discuss a lasting peace agreement with Russia.
The meeting comes after a recent summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. According to various reports, Putin is pushing for Ukraine to withdraw from two eastern regions, and Trump has indicated on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Zelenskyy “can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to.” Zelenskyy, however, has consistently stated that Ukraine will not cede any territory.
Zelenskyy’s visit, which includes leaders from major European nations, is an effort to present a united front and secure a peace deal with enforceable guarantees from the U.S. and Europe.
He has stressed that a temporary truce, like the one in 2014 that preceded Russia’s annexation of Crimea and occupation of parts of Donbas, is not acceptable. The Ukrainian president highlighted recent military successes in the Donetsk and Sumy regions as evidence of Kyiv’s ability to defend its territory.
The group of European leaders joining Zelenskyy includes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Their collective presence is seen as a move to ensure that Europe has a voice in the peace process and to prevent any deal that might pressure Ukraine into concessions.
