News Desk: Days after his high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday, signaling the start of a new peace push in the nearly four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump said he is arranging a face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, adding that Washington and Europe would coordinate security guarantees to prevent another invasion. “We’re going to make sure that if there’s peace, it stays long term. Not just for two years, but permanently,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Ukrainian President @ZelenskyyUa for their second meeting at the White House. pic.twitter.com/A9J31z8XnV
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 18, 2025
Zelenskyy, who pressed for a “strong Ukrainian army” backed by Western weapons, intelligence, and training, welcomed Trump’s assurance. “It’s about weapons, people, training, intelligence—and the support of big countries like the U.S.,” he said.
The White House meeting was closely watched in Europe. Leaders including Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Finland’s Alexander Stubb, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte all traveled to Washington to ensure Trump did not tilt toward Moscow’s demands on territorial concessions.
President Trump Participates in a Bilateral Meeting with the President of Ukraine https://t.co/67r5vwqmpg
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 18, 2025
Trump confirmed he had called Putin after the talks and begun planning a trilateral summit. “After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat—the two Presidents plus myself,” he wrote on Truth Social, describing it as an “early step” toward ending the war.
The initiative comes just days after Trump’s Alaska summit with Putin, the first US-Russia meeting since the 2022 invasion. While no ceasefire was achieved, Trump declared that a direct peace deal—rather than a temporary truce—was the only viable path forward.
Trump has tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff to coordinate with Kyiv and Moscow, as Washington positions itself at the center of a possible settlement. The diplomatic blitz is seen as a breakthrough for Putin, who had been shunned by Western capitals since the war began.
