U.S. President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end Russia’s war there, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.
Trump made the pledge during an extraordinary summit at the White House, where he hosted Zelenskiy and a group of European allies days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” Trump told reporters, adding that European countries would be involved. “They are a first line of defence because they’re there, but we’ll help them out.”
Zelenskiy hailed the promise as “a major step forward,” adding that the guarantees would be “formalized on paper within the next week to 10 days” and saying Ukraine offered to buy about $90 billion worth of U.S. weapons.
The tone on Monday was much warmer than a disastrous Oval Office meeting that saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly criticize the Ukrainian leader in February.
But a peace deal still appeared far from imminent.
Just before the talks began, Russia’s Foreign Ministry ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal, adding complications to Trump’s offer.
Both Trump and Zelenskiy said they hoped Monday’s gathering would eventually lead to three-way talks with Putin, whose forces have been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine.
Following are key quotes from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s press conference after meeting U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders in Washington on Monday. Translation by Reuters.
ON MEETING WITH TRUMP AND EUROPEAN LEADERS:
“I would like to thank President Trump for this meeting. It was the best of our meetings – and that is important. In addition to the fact that we discussed many issues, it was a long and detailed conversation.
“Today was an important step — a demonstration of true unity between Europe and the United States. The leaders personally came to support Ukraine and to discuss everything that brings us closer to real peace and a reliable security architecture that will protect Ukraine and all of Europe.”
ON DISCUSSION OF UKRAINE’S TERRITORY:
“The issue of territory – I had a long conversation about it with a map of Ukraine.
“I was even able to show many things on the map to all of our American colleagues … I even debated a bit about the percentages shown on the map, because I know very well the actual percentages of temporarily occupied territories. But nevertheless, it wasn’t an argument – it was truly a warm, good, substantive conversation.
“It seems to me that the president heard me (regarding the territories).
“The question of territories is something we will leave between me and Putin.”
ON SECURITY GUARANTEES:
“We talked about security guarantees. This is the key issue – the starting point for ending the war.
“It is important that the United States of America is sending a clear signal that they will be among the countries that will help, coordinate, and also participate in providing security guarantees. I believe this is a major step forward. I can’t yet say how everything will unfold, all the details, but it’s already important that there is political will and political decisions.
“Security guarantees will probably be ‘unpacked’ by our partners, and more and more details will emerge. All of this will somehow be formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days.
“(A part of security guarantees) is the weapons package — a package of American weapons that we currently don’t have. This includes, above all, aircraft, air defence systems, and so on.
“There indeed is a package with our (Ukrainian) proposals worth $90 billion.
“And we have agreements with the U.S. president that when our export opens, they will buy Ukrainian drones. This is important for us.”
WHAT’S NEXT, POSSIBLE MEETINGS WITH RUSSIA:
“After our joint meeting and coordination on how we will work on security guarantees, the president of the United States contacted the Russian side, and they discussed what kind of diplomatic assurances might be possible. Russia proposed first a bilateral meeting between Ukraine and Russia, and then a trilateral one.
“We are ready for any formats at the level of leaders, because only at the level of leaders can all these complex and painful issues be resolved, the most important and the most painful for us. I confirmed — and all European leaders supported me — that we are ready for a bilateral meeting with Putin. And after that, I expect a trilateral meeting but that all will depend on how the bilateral meeting goes.”
U.S. President Donald Trump gathered European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a hastily arranged White House meeting on Monday to discuss a path to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Here are takeaways from the talks:
WARM TONE, LITTLE SUBSTANCE
Seven European leaders, the Ukrainian president, their motorcades, dozens of Trump administration staff and more than 100 journalists swarmed the White House campus on Monday in anticipation of the unusual meeting.
Would Trump and Zelenskiy agree on a path to peace? Or would their latest Oval Office session devolve into a bitter squabble as in February?
Neither scenario occurred. Zelenskiy, chided for his appearance and manner in February, adjusted both. Wearing more formal clothing and repeatedly expressing his gratitude to Trump, he was greeted by a far more complimentary U.S. president than in the past.
But, despite Trump’s vow to assist in Ukraine’s security after a hypothetical peace deal, there was no immediate sign that any party had substantially changed position on land swaps, security guarantees or sanctions.
Instead, Trump ended with promises to host a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to address the many remaining issues.
HEAPING PRAISE
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” U.S. Vice President JD Vance asked Zelenskiy in February, accusing him of failing to show sufficient gratitude for U.S. support.
On Monday, Zelenskiy made sure that was not an issue. His opening remarks in the Oval Office included eight thank-yous, mostly for Trump.
“Thank you so much, Mr. President … thank you for your attention. Thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you,” Zelenskiy said.
He included the U.S. first lady, who sent a letter to Putin about abducted children in Ukraine.
“Using this opportunity, my thanks to your wife,” the Ukrainian president said.
“And thanks to all our partners and that you supported this format. And after our meeting, we’re going to have leaders who are around us, the UK and France, Germany… all partners around Ukraine supporting us. Thanks (to) them. Thank you very much for your invitation.”
Unlike in February, Vance this time sat largely silent.
COMBAT FORMAL
The stakes of the meeting could not have been higher. But one of the most-asked questions among diplomats in D.C. could not have been more frivolous: Would the Ukrainian president wear a suit?
The answer: kind of.
Zelenskiy showed up to the White House in what one European diplomat described as “almost a suit.” His black jacket had tiny lapels and jetted chest pockets. He did not wear a tie. His attire, which split the difference between the battlefield and the boardroom, could be described as combat formal.
Those sartorial details matter when it comes to dealing with the U.S. president, who was upset that Zelenskiy did not wear a suit for their February meeting.
Zelenskiy passed the fashion test this time, however.
When one journalist in the Oval Office said Zelenskiy looked “fabulous,” Trump chimed in to agree.
“I said the same thing,” Trump told reporters.
DIVIDE OVER CEASEFIRE
The assembled European leaders, Zelenskiy included, were careful to paper over policy disagreements with Trump, keeping their comments vague and showering the U.S. president with compliments.
But one point of disagreement did bubble to the surface.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the assembled leaders and media that he wanted to see Putin agree to a ceasefire.
Trump had long pushed for a ceasefire in Ukraine. But he largely jettisoned that goal after meeting with Putin last week in Alaska, a shift that was widely seen as a diplomatic defeat for Ukraine. The U.S. president now says he is fine trying to move directly to a peace deal.
“To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire,” Merz said. “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire, so let’s work on that.”
Trump pushed back, arguing he has solved many conflicts without first reaching a ceasefire.
WHOSE BOOTS ON THE GROUND?
One of the great mysteries that hung over the summit was what support the U.S. would give to secure any Russia-Ukraine deal long term.
Trump hasn’t offered U.S. troops’ “boots on the ground” to guarantee Ukraine’s security from Russia, reflecting American reticence to commit to military entanglements or a head-to-head confrontation with a nuclear power.
Instead, he has offered weapons sales and promised that Americans will do business in Ukraine, assurances that Ukrainians see as far less than a security guarantee. Europeans are preparing for a peacekeeping mission backed by their forces.
Yet, asked explicitly whether U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine could include U.S. troops in the country, Trump did not rule it out. Instead, he teased an announcement as soon as Monday on the topic.
“We’ll let you know that, maybe, later today,” Trump said. He said Europe was the “first line of defense” but that “we’ll be involved.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Trump said he would call Putin and set up a trilateral meeting with Ukraine at a time and place to be determined.
Despite some private misgivings, the assembled leaders agreed that such a meeting was a logical next step.
Still, the path forward is more complex than Trump and his allies are letting on.
For one, Russia has delayed and obstructed high-level meetings with Ukraine in the past, and it was not immediately clear that Putin would actually sit down with Zelenskiy, who he frequently describes as an illegitimate leader.
Additionally, it is unclear how much a principal-level meeting would actually advance the cause of peace.
The gulf between the Russian and Ukrainian positions is vast. The Kremlin said on Monday the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine is a non-starter, a stance that would be hard for Ukraine to swallow. Russia is also calling for Ukraine to fork over significant chunks of territory that Kyiv controls, another proposal that Ukraine’s leaders are not entertaining.
