Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Before the meeting, Zelenskyy said Russia launched multiple strikes across Ukraine overnight in an “attempt to undermine diplomatic efforts.”
He will be joined in Washington by several European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Russia must end this war, which it started itself,” Zelenskyy wrote on X late Sunday. “And I hope that our combined strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a genuine peace.”
The summit comes just days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. That meeting ended abruptly with no agreement and neither leader taking questions from reporters.
However, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who participated in the talks, told CNN that Putin agreed to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
“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,” Witkoff said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
It remains unclear whether Zelenskyy would accept such terms, as Kyiv has remained firm in its push for NATO membership. While Zelenskyy has said Russia must end the war, which began with its 2022 invasion, Trump suggested Zelenskyy could bring the conflict to a close.
“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 Truth Social Sunday night.
