Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at the White House for talks with US President Donald Trump and key European leaders as the US leader presses for a quick end to the brutal Russia-Ukraine war.
Monday’s hastily assembled meeting comes after Trump met on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has said that the onus is now on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions that he said could end the war.
Trump is to hold one-on-one talks with Zelenskyy before the two are scheduled to meet with European leaders.
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Hours before the high-stakes meeting, Trump claimed Zelenskyy could end end Russia’s illegal invasion of his country “almost immediately”.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday night (Monday AEST), the US president appeared to put the onus for reaching a ceasefire or peace deal on Zelenskyy rather than Russian counterpart Putin.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said.
“Remember how it started.”
The unprovoked war was launched by Russia more than three years ago, and has since gone on to claim hundreds of thousands of lives.
A study in June found Moscow’s forces were closing in on 1 million military casualties – including about 250,000 deaths – while the figure for Ukraine was sitting at almost 400,000, with 60,000-100,000 deaths.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also been injured and killed in the conflict.
In his post, Trump suggested Zelenskyy would have to cede the Crimean peninsula – which is part of Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders but has been controlled by Russia since it was seized in 2014 – as part of any peace deal.
He also ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, something Zelenskyy has long sought.
“No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE,” Trump wrote.
“Some things never change!!!”
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Trump’s comments come as Zelenskyy prepares for his second White House meeting with Trump (early this morning AEST).
Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post, saying, “We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably”.
He said that “peace must be lasting”, not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and “Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack”.
“We understand that we shouldn’t expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest,” Zelenskyy said in an X posting as European leaders arrived at the White House.
“That is why pressure must work, and it must be joint pressure – from the United States and Europe, and from everyone in the world who respects the right to life and the international order.”
Unlike his first trip to Washington this year, when he was infamously and very publicly ambushed by Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, he’ll be joined by an ensemble of prominent European leaders.
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British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as their counterparts from Italy, Finland, NATO and the European Union, will all accompany Zelenskyy.
The meetings are also a test of America’s relationship with its closest allies after the EU and UK accepted Trump’s tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine.
On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees that Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable.
Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump’s team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack.
“Clearly there are no easy solutions when talking about ending a war and building peace,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters in Washington ahead of the meeting.
“We have to explore all possible solutions to guarantee peace, to guarantee justice, and to guarantee security for our countries.”
The European leaders are aiming to keep the focus during the White House talks on finding a sustainable peace and believe forging a temporary ceasefire is not off the table, according to a European official.
Meeting follows Putin summit
The post comes just two days after the much-anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin that ended without a ceasefire plan, and with the Russian dictator having appeared to give up very little – if anything at all – in return for his red-carpet treatment on US soil.
Trump has repeatedly defended the summit, while special envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin did make a crucial concession during the talks.
“We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” he told CNN, adding it was “game-changing”.
It’s “the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that”, Witkoff said.
‘We stand with Ukraine’: Albanese
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, meanwhile, once again indicated an openness to sending troops to be part of any potential United Nations peacekeeping force in the future, saying he would consider any request.
However, he said there was a long way to go before those discussions could take place.
“We know that Mr Putin has designs on not just Ukraine,” Albanese told Sky News.
“The concern is certainly there, and there is certainly a lack of trust between Mr Putin and European and other leaders of democracies.
“We stand with Ukraine, we want to see peace in the region. Ukraine must, of course, not have a solution imposed on it. They need to be a part of those negotiations.”
– Reported with Associated Press
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