LONDON — President Donald Trump on Sunday teased what he stated could be a “huge day” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a number of European leaders ready for a White Home assembly that Trump stated can finish Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “virtually instantly.”
Monday’s Washington, D.C., summit follows Trump’s assembly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Since that assembly, Trump seems to have dropped his demand for Russia to comply with an instantaneous ceasefire and is now pressuring Kyiv to just accept territorial concessions to safe a peace deal.
On Sunday, Trump explicitly stated Ukraine is not going to regain Crimea — occupied by Russia in 2014. The president additionally repeated that Ukraine is not going to be allowed to affix NATO, although White Home particular envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelenskyy have hinted at different safety ensures involving the U.S.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can finish the conflict with Russia virtually instantly, if he desires to, or he can proceed to struggle,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.
The president has beforehand incorrectly framed Ukraine because the initiator of the battle, which started with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. That invasion adopted Moscow’s cross-border aggression in 2014, which noticed Russia seize Crimea and components of the jap Donbas area.
“Large day on the White Home tomorrow,” Trump added. “I’ve by no means had so many European leaders at one time. It is my nice honor to host them!!!”
President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the White Home in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2025.
Ben Curtis/AP
“NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE,” Trump added. “Some issues by no means change!!!”
Trump is anticipated to greet Zelenskyy outdoors the West Wing at 1 p.m. ET, in line with a schedule revealed by the White Home, after which they are going to maintain a bilateral assembly. The president is scheduled to take photographs with European leaders at round 2:30 p.m. ET and maintain a multilateral assembly with them at 3 p.m.
Vice President JD Vance may also attend the Trump-Zelenskyy assembly, a supply conversant in the plans confirmed to ABC Information. Vance was a part of the dramatic Oval Workplace assembly in February throughout which the vp publicly berated Zelenskyy over his alleged ingratitude for U.S. wartime help.
Zelenskyy stated in a submit to social media that he had arrived in Washington on Sunday evening, expressing his gratitude to Trump for internet hosting the deliberate assembly. “All of us share a robust need to finish this conflict shortly and reliably,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“And peace should be lasting,” he added, noting Moscow’s 2014 aggression plus the failure of the worldwide group to implement the 1994 Budapest Memorandum — which was additionally signed by Russia — that provided Ukraine “safety assurances” in change for Kyiv surrendering its Chilly Battle-era nuclear arsenal.
“Ukrainians are combating for his or her land, for his or her independence,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Russia should finish this conflict, which it itself began. And I hope that our joint energy with America, with our European associates, will power Russia into an actual peace.”
Friday’s summit in Alaska ended with Russia demanding that Ukraine cede everything of its contested and fortified jap Donetsk area in change for an finish to the combating, two sources instructed ABC Information.
Trump then challenged Kyiv to “make the deal” and lavished reward on Putin. “Look, Russia is a really huge energy, and so they’re not,” Trump instructed Fox Information after the assembly. Putin, he added, is a “sturdy man” and “powerful as hell.”
A number of European leaders will accompany Zelenskyy on the White Home assembly. European leaders have backed Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s positions in the course of the Trump administration’s strain marketing campaign on Kyiv.
These confirmed as attending are European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary-Common Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Forward of final week’s summit in Alaska, European leaders echoed Zelenskyy’s place {that a} ceasefire should precede peace negotiations, that safety ensures for Kyiv should be put in place and that solely Ukraine could make the ultimate choice on any territorial concessions.
Smoke rises from broken buildings on the website of the Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on this handout image launched on Aug. 18, 2025.
State Emergency Service Of Ukrai/by way of Reuters
On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron instructed reporters that he and his fellow European leaders will likely be touring to Washington each to help Zelenskyy and “to defend European pursuits” at a “very critical” second for the continent’s safety.
“If we’re weak right this moment with Russia, we put together the wars of tomorrow,” Macron stated, including that Moscow had “by no means” revered previous “guarantees of non-aggression.”
The character of Western safety ensures for Ukraine will likely be a key matter for dialogue, Macron stated, explaining to journalists a two-pronged method by which Ukraine’s navy could be bolstered and a Western “reassurance power” could be deployed to Ukraine to behave as a deterrent in opposition to renewed Russian assaults.
Any concessions will spark intense debate inside Ukraine. The nation’s structure dictates that any modifications to the nationwide borders should be accredited by an all-Ukraine referendum.
Kyiv’s ambitions to affix each NATO and the European Union are additionally enshrined within the structure, that means it could have to be amended for Ukraine to just accept exclusion from both bloc.
“Territorial concessions are unattainable,” Oleksandr Mrezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and chair of the physique’s international affairs committee, instructed ABC Information. “Underneath the current circumstances, we’d like a ceasefire and safety ensures to forestall Putin from violating the ceasefire.”
“In my view, Putin’s thought a few ‘peace treaty’ as an alternative of a ceasefire is extraordinarily harmful and unacceptable for each Ukraine and the U.S.,” he added.
“That the U.S. provides to be engaged in safety ensures is nice information for us, however we do not know but what will probably be in observe,” Merezhko stated. “I personally proceed to imagine that the most suitable choice for all — Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU — is NATO membership for Ukraine.”
“Putin is afraid of just one factor — NATO,” Merezhko added. “That is why it is essentially the most dependable and efficient safety assure for us.”
In the meantime, each Russia and Ukraine continued long-range assaults in a single day into Monday.
Ukraine’s air power stated Russia launched 140 drones and 4 missiles within the nation, of which 88 drones had been shot down or suppressed. Missile and drone impacts had been reported throughout 25 areas in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Kyiv areas, the air power stated.
Not less than seven folks, together with a baby, had been killed when a Russian drone impacted an house complicated in Kharkiv, native officers stated.
Zaporizhzhia Gov. Ivan Fedorov stated in a submit to Telegram that at the very least three folks had been killed and at the very least 23 folks injured by missile strikes within the southern area.
Russia’s Protection Ministry stated its forces downed at the very least 24 Ukrainian drones in a single day.
ABC Information’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Kelsey Walsh and Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
