Trump Pressures Zelenskyy To End War Ahead Of White House Meeting

WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet pinch President Donald Trump connected Monday day astatine nan White House, conscionable days aft Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin near an Alaska acme without a ceasefire deal.

Zelenskyy is traveling to Washington, D.C., alongside respective European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Trump’s sit-down pinch nan leaders will travel arsenic he’s intensified his efforts successful caller weeks to extremity nan warfare successful Ukraine, a much than three-year conflict he insists would not person taken spot had he been successful office.

Following his gathering pinch Putin, Trump shifted his purpose toward establishing a full-fledged “peace agreement” betwixt Russia and Ukraine, bemoaning ceasefire agreements arsenic unstable. At nan aforesaid time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday connected NBC News' “Meet nan Press” that a ceasefire was “not disconnected nan table,” though Russia has not agreed to extremity fighting.

In a station to Truth Social Sunday night, Trump appeared to spot nan onus of ending nan warfare connected Zelenskyy, while emphasizing that Ukraine must springiness up Russian-annexed Crimea and its hopes of joining NATO — a cardinal request from Putin.

"President Zelenskyy of Ukraine tin extremity nan warfare pinch Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, aliases he tin proceed to fight," Trump said.

A time earlier, Trump indicated successful a post connected Saturday that if talks pinch Zelenskyy are successful connected Monday, he will facilitate further discussions pinch Putin successful hopes of reaching a imperishable extremity to nan war.

The gathering will springiness nan leaders nan opportunity to talk early information guarantees for Ukraine, which U.S. typical envoy Steve Witkoff floated arsenic perchance looking akin to NATO’s Article 5.

Ukraine hoped to usage nan gathering to discuss an ironclad information guarantee, akin to Article 5, and person Trump that a impermanent ceasefire is basal to statesman existent bid talks, according to a Ukrainian root acquainted pinch nan goals. The information guarantees should beryllium treaty-level obligations, nan root said, which require Senate approval.

A GOP lawmaker who declined to beryllium identified echoed nan request for U.S. information guarantees.

Similarly, a European charismatic said that nan gathering would beryllium focused successful portion connected clarifying what information guarantees would look like. Trump has floated onshore “swapping,” but nan charismatic said that their belief was that Ukraine would ne'er springiness up each of its eastbound Donbas region, overmuch of which Russia controls. Europe, nan charismatic said, would besides apt want to participate successful immoderate last negotiations for a bid agreement.

Zelenskyy said successful a station connected X precocious Sunday that he had arrived successful Washington. "I americium assured that we will take sides Ukraine, efficaciously guarantee security, and that our group will ever beryllium grateful to President Trump," he said. He emphasized that "Russia must extremity this war, which it itself started."

The Ukrainian president’s sojourn will beryllium his first to nan White House since a February gathering devolved into a stunning confrontation betwixt Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy. The moment, which played retired unrecorded connected television, shocked Ukrainian friends and marked a crisp displacement successful nan United States’ years-long support for an state embroiled successful a bloody warfare that began pinch Russia’s invasion.

Monday’s gathering comes aft the White House welcomed Putin to Alaska, a arguable move that garnered further disapproval erstwhile nan U.S. rolled retired a reddish carpet for Putin and took nan arguable measurement of allowing nan Russian autocrat to thrust privately pinch Trump successful “The Beast,” a statesmanlike vehicle.

The meeting, which excluded Zelenskyy, yet concluded without a ceasefire deal. The leaders departed Alaska aft hosting a 12-minute property arena wherever they did not return questions aliases denote deliverables.

Trump announced his gathering pinch Zelenskyy successful nan early hours of Saturday morning, adding successful a station to Truth Social that “if each useful out, we will past schedule a gathering pinch President Putin.”

The early of awesome sticking points successful discussions to extremity nan warfare — nan position of Russian-occupied Ukrainian onshore and information guarantees to forestall a early Russian penetration — remained murky complete nan weekend.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that location “have to beryllium immoderate information guarantees for Ukraine,” noting that nan rumor would beryllium discussed “over nan adjacent fewer days.” Witkoff said Sunday that information guarantees could lucifer NATO’s Article 5, which triggers a consequence by nan full conjugation if 1 personnel is attacked.

In an question and reply connected “Fox News Sunday,” Witkoff said that “the United States is perchance prepared to beryllium capable to springiness Article 5 information guarantees, but not from NATO, straight from nan United States and different European countries.”

The Ukrainian president celebrated what he called “a historical decision” for nan U.S. to participate successful information guarantees, saying successful a station to X connected Sunday that they “must really beryllium very practical, delivering protection connected land, successful nan air, and astatine sea, and must beryllium developed pinch Europe’s participation.”

Zelenskyy will besides person nan opportunity during Monday’s gathering to reside Trump’s comments connected nan early of Ukrainian onshore occupied by Russia.

In nan days up of nan Alaska summit, Trump said that an extremity to nan warfare would see “some swapping of territories.” Zelenskyy promptly changeable down nan prospect, saying that “Ukrainians will not springiness their onshore to nan occupier.”

Rubio said Sunday connected NBC News’ “Meet nan Press” that “no 1 is pushing Ukraine to springiness that up,” referring to onshore occupied by Russia. But later that morning, Trump appeared to undercut Rubio’s remarks erstwhile he reposted a Truth Social personification who declared, “Ukraine must beryllium consenting to suffer immoderate territory to Russia different nan longer nan warfare goes connected they will support losing moreover much land!!”

Trump near his gathering pinch Putin without announcing immoderate ceasefire aliases bid agreements. The president told reporters connected his measurement to Alaska that “I’m not going to beryllium happy” if nan gathering did not lead to a ceasefire. He besides said that Russia would look “economically severe” consequences if Putin did not look willing successful peace.

However, Rubio said Sunday connected "Meet nan Press" that he did not judge “new sanctions connected Russia are going to unit him to judge nan ceasefire.”

Witkoff defended nan president aft he grounded to unafraid a ceasefire, saying connected “Fox News Sunday” that a ceasefire often precedes a bid deal, and “the president has ever talked astir a ceasefire until he made a batch of different wins successful this gathering and began to recognize that we could beryllium talking astir a bid deal.”

“The eventual woody present is simply a bid deal,” Witkoff added.

Trump’s Friday gathering pinch Putin was a stark opposition from Zelenskyy’s February travel to nan White House, erstwhile Trump and Vance publically berated Zelenskyy, arguing he was not grateful capable for U.S. support.

“You’re gambling pinch World War III, and what you doing is very disrespectful to nan country, this country, that’s backed you,” Trump told Zelenskyy astatine nan time. The gathering was yet trim short.

The 2 leaders person met since then, though not astatine nan White House. Trump and Zelenskyy met astatine nan Vatican successful April connected nan sidelines of nan pope’s funeral, and they met again privately astatine the NATO acme in June.

Trump has previously falsely called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and falsely accused Ukraine of starting nan war. The warfare began erstwhile Russia invaded Ukraine successful February 2022.