US President Donald Trump greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday, with a string of European leaders arriving in Washington for what is being seen as a decisive round of talks on a possible peace deal with Russia. Asked about his message to Ukraine, Trump remarked while welcoming Zelenskyy, “We love them”.
Zelenskyy was seen wearing a black suit, an attire he has been repeatedly seen in after he faced ridicule in the US earlier this year during his previous White House meeting with the US President.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House 🇺🇸🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/tqbdBCZyg2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
According to PTI, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was the first to arrive, followed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy and Finland also joined in a show of support for Ukraine as Trump urged Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow.
Air raid sirens sounded over Kyiv at the same time, news agency AFP reported, with overnight Russian strikes leaving at least seven people dead, including two children.
Trump-Zelenskyy One-on-One
Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet Trump for a one-on-one in the Oval Office. The meeting came just days after Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he declared that Ukraine must surrender Crimea and drop its NATO membership ambitions — Moscow’s key demands.
The Ukrainian leader struck a conciliatory tone, describing the talks as “very serious” and adopting Trump’s familiar phrase: “President Trump has that strength. We have to do everything right to make peace happen.”
Ahead of the White House session, Zelenskyy also met Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg and reiterated on social media his call for “a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe.”
I thank @GeneralKellogg for the meeting and for the joint work with our team. President Trump invited Ukraine and other European countries to Washington today – this is the first meeting in such a format, and it is very serious.
When peace is discussed for one country in Europe,… pic.twitter.com/ZMZaIzAghD
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 18, 2025
As called for increased pressure on Russia, the Ukrainian President thanked European allies for their show of support, “Together with the leaders of Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, the European Commission, and the NATO Secretary General, we coordinated our positions ahead of the meeting with President Trump. Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace.”
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. We understand that we shouldn’t expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at… pic.twitter.com/lSlBPJNKZo
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 18, 2025
Trump, 79, meanwhile, signalled his combative stance in a series of posts on Truth Social: “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.”
European Leaders Push for ‘Just Peace’
European leaders held a preparatory meeting with Zelenskyy earlier in Washington. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on his flight: “We’ve got to make sure there is peace, that it is lasting peace, and that it is fair and that it is just.”
Reports cited by AFP suggested Putin might consider Western security guarantees for Ukraine under any peace deal, though he remained opposed to Kyiv joining NATO. US media further noted that Russia could contemplate freezing the frontline if Ukraine ceded the entire Donbas region — an idea viewed as unacceptable in Kyiv.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow had made “some concessions” on territory, but Ukrainian voices were firm against such compromises. Yevgeniy Sosnovsky, a photographer from Russian-occupied Mariupol, told AFP: “Ukraine cannot give up any territories, not even those occupied by Russia.”
Ukraine-Russia War Rages
As diplomatic manoeuvring unfolded in Washington, Ukraine continued to face deadly assaults. Overnight drone and missile attacks struck multiple regions, with Ukrainian officials confirming casualties.
AFP reported that Zelenskyy attended the funeral of Nataliia Ilnytska, a soldier from the “Achilles” Regiment, killed in artillery shelling in the Donetsk region.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is also in Washington as part of the pro-Ukraine delegation, underlining Europe’s united warning against any political or territorial concessions to Russia, whose invasion since February 2022 has caused tens of thousands of deaths.
 "European leaders unite behind Zelenskyy as Trump presses for deal ‘favouring’ Moscow")
