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European leaders volition join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his sojourn to Washington, DC, seeking an extremity to the Russia-Ukraine war, aft United States President Donald Trump dropped some his propulsion for a ceasefire and the menace of punitive actions against Russia pursuing his Alaska acme with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Securing a ceasefire successful Ukraine, much than 3 years aft Russia’s invasion, had been 1 of Trump’s halfway demands earlier Friday’s Alaska summit, to which Ukraine and its European allies were not invited.
Special US envoy Steve Witkoff said connected Sunday that Putin agreed astatine the acme with Trump to let the US and European allies to connection Ukraine a information warrant resembling NATO’s corporate defence mandate arsenic portion of an eventual woody to extremity the 3 1/2-year war.
“We were capable to triumph the pursuing concession: That the United States could connection Article 5-like protection, which is 1 of the existent reasons wherefore Ukraine wants to beryllium successful NATO,” helium said connected the CNN quality programme State of the Union. Witkoff said it was the archetypal clip helium had heard Putin hold to that.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, speaking successful Brussels connected Sunday aft gathering European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said the existent beforehand lines of the warfare should beryllium the ground for bid talks.
“We request existent negotiations, which means we tin commencement wherever the beforehand enactment is now,” Zelenskyy said, adding that European leaders enactment this and reiterating his long-held presumption that it was indispensable to found a ceasefire successful bid to past negociate a last deal.
But aft the acme connected Friday with Putin yielded nary wide breakthrough, Trump ruled retired an contiguous ceasefire – a determination that aligns with Putin, who has agelong argued for negotiations connected a last bid deal.
According to a New York Times report, aft his gathering with Putin, the US president besides told European leaders that helium had offered to enactment a program to extremity the warfare that progressive Ukraine giving up parts of its territory to Russia.
Ukraine and its European allies person criticised Putin’s stance arsenic a mode to bargain clip and property Russia’s battlefield advances, and they person expressed unease implicit Trump’s onshore swap connection from the outset.
In an effort to effort amusement a firm, agreed beforehand to the US president successful White House talks connected Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and von der Leyen volition travel Zelenskyy to Washington, DC.
“The talks volition address, among different things, information guarantees, territorial issues, and continued enactment for Ukraine successful its defence against Russian aggression,” the German authorities said successful a connection astir the travel to the US capital. “This includes maintaining unit connected sanctions.”
Ahead of the visit, von der Leyen said connected X that she would invited Zelenskyy for a gathering successful Brussels connected Sunday, which different European leaders would articulation by video, earlier accompanying the Ukrainian person connected his US travel astatine his “request” and with “other European leaders”.
This afternoon, I volition invited @ZelenskyyUa successful Brussels.
Together, we volition enactment successful the Coalition of Willing VTC.
At the petition of President Zelenskyy, I volition articulation the gathering with President Trump and different European leaders successful the White House tomorrow.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 17, 2025
Strength and information successful numbers look to beryllium factors successful the radical visit, with memories inactive caller astir the hostile reception Zelenskyy received successful February from Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance successful a nationalist White House dressing-down, castigating the Ukrainian person arsenic being ungrateful and “disrespectful”.
No onshore swaps
While Zelenskyy has welcomed Trump’s efforts to extremity the war, successful a station connected societal media connected Saturday, helium warned that “it whitethorn instrumentality a batch of effort to get Russia to person the volition to instrumentality acold greater – peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades”.
The Ukrainian president has besides repeatedly reiterated that Kyiv volition not swap immoderate of its onshore to attain a ceasefire. Ukraine’s constitution forbids the ceding of territory.
According to Zelenskyy, Putin has asked that Russia beryllium handed implicit each of Ukraine’s eastbound Donetsk region, a 3rd of which Kyiv inactive holds.
In exchange, Russian forces would halt their violative successful the Black Sea larboard portion of Kherson and Zaporizhia successful confederate Ukraine, wherever the main cities are inactive nether Ukrainian control.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian president said that “Ukrainians volition not springiness their onshore to the occupier” and pointed retired that helium doesn’t person the authorization to motion disconnected connected onshore swaps. He said that changing Ukraine’s 1991 borders runs antagonistic to the country’s constitution.
Russia launched a full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022 and has been gradually advancing for months.
In his connection aft the Alaska summit, Putin signalled nary question successful Russia’s long-held demands, which besides see a veto connected Kyiv’s desired rank successful the NATO alliance.
He besides warned Ukraine and its European allies not to “create immoderate obstacles” and “that they volition not effort to disrupt the emerging advancement done provocation oregon behind-the-scenes intrigue”.
Trilateral acme successful the works?
The diplomatic absorption present switches to Zelenskyy’s talks astatine the White House connected Monday with the European leaders successful tow.
In an interrogation with broadcaster Fox News aft his sit-down with Putin, Trump had suggested that the onus was present connected Zelenskyy to unafraid a bid woody arsenic they enactment towards an eventual trilateral acme with Putin.
“It’s truly up to President Zelenskyy to get it done,” Trump said.
European powers, however, privation to assistance acceptable up a trilateral gathering betwixt Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy to marque definite Ukraine has a spot astatine the array to signifier its future.
They besides privation information guarantees for Ukraine with US involvement, and the quality to crank up unit connected Moscow if needed.
“They volition spell retired what they see indispensable successful presumption of information guarantees: what they tin bash themselves, what falls to the conjugation of volunteers, and besides what they expect from the United States,” a European authorities authoritative told the Reuters quality agency.
“Indeed, they expect a precise robust commitment.”
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