Trump to host Zelenskyy, Europeans at White House for Ukraine talks today
Washington — President Trump is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday as the U.S. pursues a long-lasting peace agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump announced the meeting early Saturday, following his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. In a post on Truth Social, the president said the meeting with Putin "went very well," adding that the same was true of a phone call with Zelenskyy and various European leaders after the fact.
"President Zelenskyy will be coming to D.C., the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon," Mr. Trump said. "If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin."
European and NATO leaders are expected to accompany Zelenskyy to Washington, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said she was joining at "the request of President Zelenskyy."
Though the nearly three-hour-long meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents on Friday failed to produce the ceasefire that Mr. Trump had sought, the administration has since pivoted to seeking a broader peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. The decision to abandon a ceasefire was at odds with the goals of the U.S. and European allies heading into the summit, and some analysts say the shift could give Putin more leverage at the negotiating table.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday that "both sides are going to have to make concessions" to get there.
"We want to wind up with a peace deal that ends this war so Ukraine can go on with the rest of their lives and rebuild their country and be assured that this is never going to happen again," Rubio said, noting that doing so would require both sides "to give."
The secretary of state, who attended Friday's summit meeting with Putin, indicated that enough progress was made to sit down with Zelenskyy to "narrow the gap between the two sides."
Rubio said the details of security guarantees for Ukraine, the question of territories and the issue of rebuilding the country still need to be discussed and "require some more specificity."
Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that Putin agreed to allow the U.S. and Europe to offer "game-changing" security guarantees, including a possible arrangement in which the allies provide "Article 5-like protection" to Ukraine. Article 5 of the NATO charter says an attack on one member nation is considered an attack against all. Putin has been vehemently opposed to Ukraine joining NATO, but a similar security guarantee outside the framework of the alliance might reassure Kyiv that Russia would be deterred from attacking in the future.
Witkoff noted that the administration intends to discuss a possible land swap at Monday's meeting.
"We're not waiting a week for a meeting with Zelenskyy and the European leaders," Witkoff said. "We are intent on trying to hammer out a peace deal that ends the fighting permanently, very, very quickly. Quicker than a ceasefire."
In a Truth Social post Sunday night, Mr. Trump said, "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. 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!!!" Mr. Trump was referring to Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea in early 2014.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said he'd arrived in Washington for the talks and insisted, "Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace."
Ahead of Monday's meeting, Russian attacks on Ukraine continued, with a wave of air strikes hitting cities around the country, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Sumy, CBS News partner network BBC News reported. Ukrainian authorities said a drone attack on a residential area in the city of Kharkiv overnight killed a toddler, a 16-year-old and five other people.
"Despite all of the diplomacy and peace efforts, Russia continues to kill civilians," Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said in a social media post. "Russia is a murderous war machine that Ukraine is holding back. And it must be stopped through transatlantic unity and pressure. Moscow must stop the killing in order to advance diplomacy."
Russian state media reported Ukraine had carried out a drone attack in Donetsk, overnight which killed a 62-year-old woman.
Monday's meeting between Mr. Trump and Zelenskyy comes months after a contentious February Oval Office meeting between the two leaders and Vice President JD Vance exposed a severe rift, with tensions erupting on camera as Vance accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude. In recent months, Mr. Trump's posture appeared to shift as he expressed frustration with Putin over Russia's ongoing drone and missile attacks, including what Ukraine described as the largest such attacks since the invasion began in February 2022.
Haley Ott and Brian Dakss contributed to this report.
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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