Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders have arrived at the White House for meetings with Donald Trump to map out a peace deal amid fears the US could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow.
During a brief press conference in the Oval Office, the US president said “very substantial progress” is being made in his talks with Putin.
He said the Russian president is “expecting my call” following talks with Zelenskiy and European leaders.
Trump said he expects a trilateral meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy to be held should Monday’s meetings go well, saying there will be a “reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”
The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and Nato hope to shore up Zelenskiy at a crucial diplomatic moment in the war and prevent any repetition of the bad-tempered Oval Office encounter between Trump and Ukraine’s leader in February.
Key ReadsPutin ‘expecting my call’, says Trump
Trump has said Putin is “expecting my call” after meetings with Zelenskiy and European leaders on Monday.
He said he had spoken to Putin indirectly prior to his meeting with Zelenskiy.
Earlier, Trump said he expected to have a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskiy in the future should meetings go well.
He added there will be a “reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House.
Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Asked by a reporter if he’s prepared to agree to “redraw the maps”, Zelenskiy highlighted Russia’s attacks ahead of today’s talks and emphasised the need to stop the war through diplomacy.
Trump, who said he believes Putin wants the Ukraine war to end, added that he will work with Ukraine and Russia to ensure a peace that is long term.
Asked if future security guarantees for Ukraine could involve US troops, he said there will be “a lot of help” when it comes to security.
“They’re the first line of defence because they’re there, Europe, but we’re going to help them out also, we’ll be involved.”
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has just entered the White House.
He was greeted by Mr Trump on arrival before the pair shook hands and entered for talks. European leaders had been arriving for about an hour or so before Zelenskiy.
Donald Trump greets Volodymyr Zelenskiy outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC. Photograph: Ting Shen/Bloomberg
Speaking inside the Oval Office, Trump said he believes “very substantial progress” is being made in his talks with Putin.
“I think there’s a possibility that something could come out of it,” he said.
Zelenskiy thanked Trump for his efforts to stop the the war. He also thanked Melania Trump for her letter to Putin telling him “it is time” to protect children and future generations around the globe.
The US first lady penned a letter to the Russian president appealing for an end to the war.
Prior to his meeting with Trump, Zelenskiy said Kyiv was seeking a “reliable and lasting peace” in its war with Russia and that it was prepared to establish “a new security architecture”.
“Our main goal is a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. And it is important that the momentum of all our meetings lead to precisely this result,” he said on X.
“Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace.”
European leaders continue to arrive at the White House.
French President Emmanuel Macron.
Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images 
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images 
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is greeted by US Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley.
Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Territorial questions are certain to be a key area of focus when Zelenskiy and European leaders meet Trump for talks.
Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and the US president has said “land-swapping” and changes to territory will be crucial for any settlement.
Two sources briefed on Russian thinking said on Saturday that Putin and Trump have discussed a proposal requiring Ukraine to fully withdraw troops from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the eastern Donetsk region.
Any changes to Ukraine’s territory would have to be settled in Ukraine by a referendum, according to the country’s constitution.
Ukraine, like its European allies, strongly opposes the idea of legally recognising any Ukrainian territory as Russian. But it has tacitly acknowledged it will almost certainly have to accept some de facto territorial losses.
Zelenskiy has said talks to end the war should take the current front line as their starting point and cannot begin by Kyiv having to withdraw its troops from parts of its own sovereign territory that Russia does not control.
He has said he does not have a mandate to give away any of the country’s territory, and that tracts of state land cannot be traded around as if they were his private property.
Zelenskiy has also said that if Kyiv withdrew troops from the heavily fortified eastern Donetsk region, it would open up Ukraine to the threat of Russian advances deeper into less well-defended Ukrainian territory.
Trump has publicly criticised Zelenskiy for saying he could not violate the constitution by agreeing to give away territory.
“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskiy was saying: ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval’. I mean, he has got approval to go into war, kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on”, he told reporters earlier this month. – Reuters
Mr Zelenskiy is due to meet Mr Trump at 6.15pm Irish time in the Oval Office. At 8pm, European leaders will join talks in the White House’s East Room.
The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and Nato along with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will take part in an effort map out a peace deal.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen arrives at the White House.
Photograph: by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
British prime minister Keir Starmer said there must be “lasting peace” that is “fair and just.”
US president Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said he is “only here to stop” the war in Ukraine, and “not to prosecute it any further.”
“It would have NEVER happened if I was President. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I don’t need the advice of people who have been working on all of these conflicts for years, and were never able to do a thing to stop them,” he said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Following a meeting with US special envoy on Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, earlier on Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated that Ukraine is working with “maximum effort to end the war and to ensure reliable security.”
Mr Zelenskiy added that two children were among those killed in Russian attacks on Monday, saying: “People were simply sleeping when the Russian army launched strikes on the cities.”
“Russia can only be forced into peace through strength, and President Trump has that strength. We have to do everything right to make peace happen,” he said on X.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has labelled Russia’s attacks on Ukraine on Monday, which killed at least ten civilians, as an attempt to “humiliate diplomatic efforts” ahead of today’s meeting in Washington DC.
“This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike. They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war,” Mr Zelenskiy said on X.
Both Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia were targeted on Monday, leaving dozens more injured.
“Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings.
“That is why reliable security guarantees are required. That is why Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war. The war must be ended,” he said.