'We'll do our best' to end Russia's war in Ukraine, Trump tells Zelenskyy and European allies

We're closing down our live coverage now of those crucial talks between Trump and Zelenskyy which also included a delegation from Europe.

There were no major breakthroughs towards peace but a much more constructive atmosphere compared to Zelenskyy's last visit to the White House and plenty of talk about security guarantees and further meetings to take place.

Before we sign off, here's a quick round-up of some of the major points from this Monday night.

• French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the idea of a trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Putin and Trump, arguing "it's the only way to fix it," but also said that that meeting should be a four-way which includes Europe.

• Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had agreed that Russia would accept some security guarantees for Ukraine but pointed out that “I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden.”

• “We will speak more about security guarantees. This is very important that the United States gives such strong signals and is ready for security guarantees," Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that "A lot of countries are on the side of Ukraine, our people, and all of us want to finish this war."

• Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz thanked Trump for hosting the meeting, which he called "extremely helpful,” and acknowledged progress had been made, but called the next steps "more complicated."

• Meanwhile, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Trump's "indication of security guarantees of some sort of Article 5-style guarantee fits with what we've been doing with the coalition of the willing." 

• And European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pointed out that security guarantees for Ukraine are “so important.”

Zelenskyy said he showed Trump a map of the battlefield in Ukraine as territorial concessions were discussed at their bilateral meeting. 

Ukraine’s president said, "I showed the president a lot of details on the battlefield, on the map." 

Donald Trump admitted that, "We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory" presumably leaving this matter for the trilateral meeting with Putin. 

Trump seemed to have suggested that it would be based on the current frontlines and what land Russia currently occupies.

He added: "That means the war zone, the war lines that are now, pretty obvious, very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiating positions."

Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Ukraine would not hand over territory to Russia.

Putin insisted before that he wants Russia to keep control over four regions of Ukraine, including the territories Russia never occupied. Moscow even voiced the maximalist demands to Ukraine for Kyiv’s forces to withdraw from Ukrainian regions, which Russia invaded. 

Analysts point out at the fact that Russia is not capable of seizing these territories militarily despite throwing its best forces at it for over a decade.  

Russia can’t seize all of Donetsk unless Ukraine withdraws, ISW says

The Russian president allegedly told Donald Trump that he wants all of Ukraine’s Donbas region as part of any deal to put an end to the war. More than 10 years…

In closing remarks before the media was shuttled out of the meeting room, Trump expressed confidence a deal for Ukraine can be made within the coming weeks.

"I don't think there's any issue that's overly complex. It's at a point now where people want to do things," he said.

"I've known him for a long time, I've always had a great relationship with him. I think that President Putin wants to find an answer too and we'll see in a certain period of time, not very far from now, a week or two weeks, we're going to know whether or not we're going to solve this."

"We'll do our best to get it ended, and I believe we have two willing parties," he added.

Speaking after France's President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he co-chairs coalition of the willing meetings, British PM Keir Starmer said that Trump's "indication of security guarantees of some sort of Article 5-style guarantee fits with what we've been doing with the coalition of the willing."

The group, which includes countries from across Europe, as well as Canada, Australia and Japan, was started in March and shows "that we were prepared to step up to the plate when it came to security," Starmer said.

"With the US coming alongside what we've already developed, I think we could take a really important step forward today, a historic step actually could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine, security in Europe," he added.

Russia does not accept any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO member troops in Ukraine, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson said, as Donald Trump mentioned for the first time the substantial security guarantees for Ukraine as a part of a deal to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. 

At the bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier today, Trump did not reject the possibility of American peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine. “Europe is the first line of defence,” Trump said, adding, “but we will help, we will be involved.”

Russia’s Maria Zakharova said this “could lead to an uncontrollable escalation of the conflict with unpredictable consequences”

She went on criticising the European leaders and the UK prime minister in particular. 

“Statements on this matter by individual European countries, including the United Kingdom, essentially confirm their openly provocative and predatory aspirations in Ukraine."

The Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, which turned into an impromptu live press conference, was marked by a handful of loud yet cordial laughs and Zelenskyy thanking Trump at least six or seven times (according to our preliminary count) for the US support and the efforts to stop the war, which remains the clear basis for the Washington talks with Ukraine and European leaders. 

With the world holding its breath to watch the Trump-Zelenskyy rematch and the EU leaders also ostensibly listening in from next door, the two leaders did the total opposite to the previous harrowing shouting match, underlining these historic days and their will to make this work.

This time, in Trump's eyes, Zelenskyy was a “smart and energetic leader”.

The US president told the world that “the war is going to end” and that he is not looking for a “two-years' peace, but a long one”. “I don’t do ceasefires, I do peace," he said.

“We will give the Ukrainians very good protection, very good security,” because “they went through hell, (Zelenskyy) went through hell, so many people are displaced.”

To add to the positive atmosphere and momentum, Trump admitted, “I ended six wars and I thought this was to be the easiest one”.

The US president repeated several times the reality of what is at stake here: “Lots of people were killed last week for whatever reason" and “people of Ukraine have suffered terribly." He loves Ukrainian people, Trump said -- quickly adding that he loves Russian people too, and that, in fact, he loves all people.

He stated clearly that “Putin wants to see the war ended”, and this time Zelenskyy did not contradict him. The Ukrainian president supported Trump by clearly stating that Ukraine was “ready for the trilateral” meeting.

Trump said he would call Putin right after the White House meeting just as he did after meeting Putin when he called Zelenskyy and EU leaders.

With US Vice President JD Vance not intervening this time, except the aforementioned loud yet cordial laughs, Trump avoided questions on the critical point of territorial concessions to say that there is “a strong possibility something may come” from these talks. 

With the previous meeting as a past shadow, President Zelenskyy opened the meeting by thanking Trump no less than six times for all his efforts and support, and further surprised the auditorium by thanking First Lady Melania Trump for writing a strong letter in support of the Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

He went on to present Trump a letter from the First Lady of Ukraine, “addressed to the First Lady of the US, not you”, making the room erupt with laughter -- and making Trump laugh, too. 

Trump proved his negotiating skills again by not alienating Putin and laying out the road ahead in clear and honest terms.

“We will have a 'trilateral' if everything works out, we have a good chance, it’s never an end of road for peace,” Trump said.

Fully aware of the current momentum, the US president peppered the EU leaders present at the White House with plaudits, calling them “all great, very powerful leaders” and “all friends of mine”.

As a sign of times past, when Zelenskyy’s no-suit appearance ignited the initial White House showdown, this time a journalist complimented the Ukrainian president that he looked “fabulous in his suit”, with Trump scoring by reacting, “I said the same”.

A previous showbiz star, Zelenskyy did not drop a beat, retorting, “it’s the same suit”, igniting loud laughter in the White House to dissipate the tensions looming over the meeting before his arrival.

Finishing off the display of friendly, warm banter as opposed to open hostility, with all eyes in Moscow on the live scene at the White House, when Zelenskyy was asked a question about elections in Ukraine, he replied, “Yes of course, elections can only be done in safe conditions; we need a truce to make it possible to people to go to vote.”

Proving once again his political instincts, Trump quipped back: “hold on a minute - if you are at war, you don’t do elections?" The room erupted with laughter once again.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the idea of a trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Putin and Trump, arguing "it's the only way to fix it."

He also said that "a truce" in order to organise such a meeting would be "a necessity."

"I think, as a follow-up, we would need probably a quadrilateral meeting because when you speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent," he added during a short address before the start of a closed-door multilateral meeting.

We've just been reporting on some of the comments made by the leaders at the public roundtable in the White House.

The cameras are now off as closed-door talks are under way.

We'll keep you updated on further developments.

Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin agreed that Russia would accept some security guarantees for Ukraine. 

Speaking at the meeting with Zelenskyy and European leaders, the US president said: "I believe that in a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine."

He added: "I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden. We're going to help them, and we're going to make it very secure."

Trump says that one point he'd discuss with the leaders in Washington tonight is "who would do what."

Zelenskyy said this was an important part of a "very good conversation."

"We spoke about very sensitive points. The first one is security guarantees. Security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts," Zelenskyy said. 

"A lot of countries are on the side of Ukraine, our people, and all of us want to finish this war."

"We will speak more about security guarantees. This is very important that the United States gives such strong signals and is ready for security guarantees," he said.

Trump said in an Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy earlier that a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine was "unnecessary."

After an hour of closed-door meeting with EU leaders and Zelenskyy, Trump then told reporters in the East Room that "all of us would obviously prefer the immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace."

He added that he likes a ceasefire because it would "immediately stop the killing," but reiterated that a peace agreement between the two countries is "very attainable" at this point in the war.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz thanked Trump for hosting the meeting, which he called "extremely helpful: and acknowledged progress had been made, but called the next steps "more complicated."

He was referring to the trilateral summit of Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin and said a ceasefire was the most important thing for Ukraine.

"To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire, the latest from the next meeting on," Merz said.

But added that he "can't imagine" a trilateral meeting taking place "without a ceasefire."

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said “sensitive” territorial issued will be discussed at a trilateral summit involving himself, Trump and Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin. 

Trump said the issue of ceding any of Ukraine's territory to Russia "can only be made by Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine."

The delegation of European leaders has just posed for a family photo with Trump and Zelenskyy in the White House.

That came after the private one-on-one between the US and Ukrainian presidents. The crucial multilateral session is now under way.

Trump and Zelenskyy are holding closed-door talks now after making opening statements and answering questions from reporters in the Oval Office.

A group photo of Trump, Zelenskyy and the European leaders' delegation will follow before everyone meets in the East Room to discuss how to end Russia's war against Ukraine.

It was only a few months ago that Trump and Zelenskyy last met in the Oval Office, but Monday's face-to-face between the two leaders looked markedly different.

For much of their February exchange, during which Trump and Vance blasted Zelenskyy as "disrespectful" and warned about future American support, Zelenskyy crossed his arms and looked askance at the US leaders.

The presidents often spoke over each other, also gesturing disagreement.

Monday's public meeting, ahead of their closed-door talks, was rounded out with more smiles and pleasantries between the two leaders, as well as agreement on some points regarding the ongoing war.

Both men largely sat with their hands clasped in their laps, affably fielding questions from reporters.

The reporter who mocked Zelenskyy at the February meeting in the White House for not wearing a suit praised him this time — “You look fabulous in that suit!”

Trump then jumped in, saying: "I said the same thing," pointing out to Zelenskyy that it was indeed the very same Brian Glenn who had "attacked" him last time.

In response, Zelenskyy said: "I remember that," and joked Glenn was wearing the same suit as last time: "I changed, you did not."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to hold elections in Ukraine when it is safe to do so. 

"Because during the war, you can't have elections," Zelenskyy said, adding that “a truce” might be needed on land, sea and in the sky to make it possible to do "democratic" and "legal" elections.

President Trump responded with what seemed to be a slightly sarcastic comment: "So you say during the war you can't have elections?

"So let me just say three and a half years from now, so you mean if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections?," the US President said in an apparent reference to the next US elections.

Zelenskyy addressed Trump jokingly: "You like this idea?"

Trump had previously attacked Zelenskyy and called him a "dictator", claiming he "refused to have elections" in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy's term was due to end in May 2024. However, elections in Ukraine have been suspended after the country declared martial law in response to Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy said numerous times he is not opposed to elections and will be open to having them as soon as voting can be made safe.  

Russia's strategy remains "anti-European," and the continent needs to stand united in further negotiations to stop Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Sunday.

The meeting came ahead of Monday's talks in the White House which featured a delegation of European leaders.

You can read more about Zelenskyy's meeting in Brussels and what was said in the article below.

Zelenskyy urges Europe to stay united against Russia’s war in Ukraine

Many European leaders are set to join Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his visit to the White House on Monday to meet with his US counterpart Donald…

Unlike the last time he was in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy in February, Vance made no comments during the public portion of Monday's meeting.

Seated on a couch with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vance sat by as Trump and Zelenskyy interacted and took questions from reporters.

During February's tense Oval Office meeting, Vance called Zelenskyy "disrespectful" for airing disagreements with Trump in public.

Zelenskyy grew defensive and Trump and his vice president blasted him as ungrateful, issuing stark warnings about future American support.

Trump said the Russian leader is "expecting my call when we're finished with this meeting" with Zelenskyy and the group of European leaders waiting at the White House.

Trump and Putin met in person on Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war, in talks that were criticised by many in the West as being too deferential to the Russian leader.

Zelenskyy’s White House visit on Monday is the first since February's dramatic showdown in the Oval Office with Trump and his Vice President JD Vance.

During that meeting, the Ukrainian leader was publicly admonished by Trump and members of his administration for "not being thankful enough" and mocked for "not wearing a suit."

This time Zelenskyy thanked Trump several times during his opening remarks.

"Thank you for invitation and for your personal efforts to stop this war," Zelenskyy said, extending his gratitude to US First Lady Melania Trump for a letter she passed on to Russia's President Vladimir Putin concerning the abduction of Ukrainian children. 

Russia has illegally deported at least 20,000 Ukrainian children but Moscow claims this number could be much higher and could be up to 700,000. 

Trump told reporters that Washington and Europe "haven't discussed" yet what providing Article 5-like guarantees to Ukraine without actual NATO membership would look like in practice.

Reminder: Ukraine wants to join the military alliance but this is a red line for Moscow.

The US president said leaders gathered in Washington would be "discussing it today."

"But we will give them very good protection, very good security. That's part of it, and the people that are waiting for us, they are, I think, they're very like-minded, they want to they want to help out," he added.

Zelenskyy meanwhile underscored that the country needs "everything", including weapons, training, and intelligence, but most of all a "strong Ukrainian army."

As Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy started their bilateral meeting, the US president said the substantial progress is being made to put an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. 

He reiterated his plans to have a trilateral meeting with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, saying if the meeting with Zelenskyy goes well on Monday, a meeting with Putin will be next. 

Zelenskyy once again repeated that he is ready to meet with Putin, as he has said several times in the past. It was Vladimir Putin who rejected that meeting. 

When Trump was asked if he sees Monday's talks as the "end of the road of American support of Ukraine" if no agreement is reached, Trump said "It is never the end of the road, people are being killed and we want to stop that."

Trump also didn't reject the possibility of having American peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine.

"Europe is the first line of defence," Trump said, adding "But we will help, we will be involved."

He did not give more details, but said the announcement on how exactly the US could be involved might come later today after the meeting with the European leaders, who are accompanying Zelenskyy in Washington. 

Ukraine peace talks between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy are under way in the White House.

Trump said the meeting is "very important" while Zelenskyy thanked Trump for trying to end Russia’s war against his country.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at the White House for crucial Ukraine peace talks with US president Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy’s arrival comes around half an hour after the last member of the European delegation, French President Emmanuel Macron, stepped out of his car at the White House at 6:47 pm CET.

Things appear to be running slightly later than originally advertised, albeit only by a few minutes.

Zelenskyy was scheduled to arrive at 7 pm CET, instead he was welcomed to the White House by Trump at 7:14 pm CET.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post that he and his fellow European leaders "coordinated" their positions before their meeting in the White House with Donald Trump.

"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," he wrote on X.

"We understand that we shouldn't expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest. That is why pressure must work, and it must be joint pressure – from the United States and Europe, and from everyone in the world who respects the right to life and the international order," he added.

The group of European leaders has arrived at the White House ahead of talks with Trump and Zelenskyy scheduled for later on Monday.

First to arrive was NATO Chief Mark Rutte, followed closely by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Both of those arrivals happened slightly later than the 6 pm CET arrival time originally published.

6:18 pm CET - UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived.

6:26 pm CET - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived.

6:32 pm CET - Finland's President Alexander Stubb arrived.

6:40 pm CET - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived.

6:47 pm CET - French President Emmanuel Macron arrived.

Trump's meeting with the Europeans is scheduled to take place at 9 pm CET.

It may seem like a frivolous question, but Zelenskyy's choice of clothing at his February meeting at the White House was a major sore point.

Zelenskyy's choice of combat-style sweater and pants, rather than the more conventional suit, prompted teasing from Trump when he arrived to accusations of disrespect from a journalist in the press pool.

Ahead of Monday's meetings at the White House with Trump and European leaders, Zelenskyy met with Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, wearing a dark half-sleeve t-shirt, according to video of the engagement Zelenskyy posted on X.

But perhaps, keen to avoid a replay of February's debacle in the Oval Office, Zelenskyy might choose to wear something a little more formal. Although, it's unlikely that will mean the full dress suit more commonly associated with presidents.

To find out more about why Zelenskyy dresses as he does, and why it matters, you can read our article below, published at the time Ukraine's leader was attending a NATO summit in The Hague.

Sharp dressed man: Zelenskyy and the NATO sartorial switch

Zelenskyy is currently in The Hague attending this year’s NATO summit in a bid to ensure continued Western military support for his country, which, more than t…

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni told Italian media from Washington ahead of her meeting with Trump that Western "unity" is the best "tool we have for building peace and guaranteeing justice".

"This is an important day," she also said, adding that they would discuss security guarantees including her proposal, made in March, to extend NATO's Article 5 to Ukraine without granting the country membership.

"Clearly, we must build on this, we must work. I think that the work we are going to do today will be an important job from this point of view. Clearly there are no easy solutions when it comes to stopping a war, building peace. I think that we must explore all possible solutions to guarantee peace to guarantee justice to guarantee the security of our nations," she said.

Reminder: US officials have said that Putin said he would accept the US and European allies providing security guarantees resembling NATO's collective defence pledge to Ukraine. Russia remains firmly opposed to Kyiv joining the military alliance.

Russia launched a fresh wave of attacks against Ukraine overnight into Monday killing at least seven people and injuring over a dozen.

Those strikes, which have been slammed by Zelenskyy as an attempt to "humiliate diplomatic efforts," happened on the eve of that crucial White House meeting.

In Kharkiv, seven people were killed, including a toddler, and at least 18 others were injured after Moscow targeted a residential area in the north-eastern city.

The death toll was originally reported at four, but has since risen to seven as rescuers continued to work their way through the rubble in the aftermath of the strike.

You can read the full report below.

At least seven killed as Russian air strikes on Ukraine continue

The US president ruled out Ukraine’s joining of NATO and reclaiming Crimea as part of any peace agreement with Russia just hours before he’s due to meet Volody…

Concretely, Ukraine wants to be in a position to deter any future aggression.

For that, it and European capitals, believe that no restriction can be put on the country's army and that it gets to decide its scale and priorities. But Kyiv wants Western allies to promise to continue to provide capabilities it views as crucial to deter and defend itself including modern air defence systems, where the US has an edge. 

Several countries in the so-called coalition of the willing have also expressed their willingness to create a "reassurance force" whereby they would send boots on the ground. France's Emmanuel Macron, who is among the leaders who have backed the measure, said on Sunday that the plans are now "consolidated".

These foreign soldiers, Macron reiterated, would not be on the frontline or in disputed territories. "We will present this and also ask the United States of America how far and to what extent they are prepared to join them."

Ukraine also wants to join NATO, which has a mutual defence clause. Most European leaders approve of Ukraine's bid but this is a red line for Putin. According to Washington, the Russian leader agreed at the Alaska summit that the US and Europe can provide a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence pledge. 

Finally, EU membership is also viewed as a credible security guarantee by Kyiv and Brussels. Ukraine applied within weeks of Russia launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is now an official candidate country. The Commission considers Kyiv has done all the work that was asked of it in order to open cluster negotiations, but progress is being stalled by Hungary. Every enlargement decision requires unanimity among the 27 current member states. 

US President Donald Trump welcomed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The announcement that they would meet, made a week earlier, had unleashed a flurry of diplomatic contacts amongst Europeans that culminated on 13 August with a call between Trump and a select group of European leaders that included the heads of state of France, Germany, the UK, Finland, Poland, Italy, Ukraine, the European Commission and Council and NATO.

The goal for Europeans was to make clear to the US leader their positions on the conflict prior to his meeting with Putin. These include their stance that nothing about Ukraine, especially issues pertaining to territorial integrity, should be decided without Ukraine at the table, that maximum pressure should be kept on Russia until it enters into a ceasefire, and that the US should join European allies in providing security guarantees for Ukraine following a peace deal. 

This meeting was then followed by a virtual gathering of the so-called coalition of the willing - countries that have expressed an interest in providing Ukraine with security guarantees in the event of a peace deal.

Trump had told European leaders his main objective from the Alaska summit was to secure a ceasefire but got nothing out of Putin beyond already known demands that Ukraine relinquish its Donbas region and recognise Moscow's annexation of Crimea, and give up on its aspiration to join the NATO military alliance.

Trump then debriefed a small group of European leaders on Saturday morning, with another meeting of the coalition of the willing held on Sunday afternoon. 

The delegation of European that will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte.

Here's how the day is to unfold:

• 18:00 CET: European leaders arrive at the White House;
• 19:00 CET: Trump meets Zelenskyy;
• 20:15 CET: Trump greets European leaders;
• 21:00 CET: Trump meets European leaders.

European Council President António Costa has said he will convene a video conference for council members to update them on Monday’s meetings in Washington on Ukraine peace.

The video session is due to take place at 1 pm CEST on Tuesday afternoon.

"Together with the US, the EU will continue working towards a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests," Costa said in a post on X.

Zelenskyy has rejected Putin's demand that Ukraine surrender any of its territories, including the Donbas region, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, since the Ukrainian Constitution forbids giving up territory or trading land.

That also means Crimea cannot be ceded either, which Russia unilaterally annexed in 2014.

Putin has long wanted Kyiv to give up the Donbas, the industrial region in eastern Ukraine initially invaded in 2014 that has seen some of the most intense fighting since, but that Russian forces have failed to occupy completely.

Russia currently holds less than 20% of Ukrainian territory.

With Zelenskyy and several European leaders in town for hastily arranged meetings, the area around the White House is brimming with security.

A line of black SUVs stretched up 16th Street from Lafayette Park and motorcycle police officers are standing by.

Some roads were blocked off by police and dump trucks and there were extra checkpoints to screen people approaching the White House.

Pennsylvania Avenue, usually crammed with tourists taking pictures of the north side of the president’s residence, is also vacant.

Joining Zelenskyy will be French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte.

February's disastrous meeting at the White House between Zelenskyy and Trump is one Ukraine's leader won't forget in a hurry.

He was outnumbered and sat before the entire White House press pool as Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, berated him about everything from his clothes to his alleged lack of gratitude.

Zelenskyy left the White House shortly after the public dressing down, with Trump saying afterwards he wasn't ready for peace and disrespected the US in the Oval Office.

But this time, Zelenskyy has backup in the form of some of Europe's most highly respected politicians and, notably, Ukraine's staunchest backers.

Sasha Vakulina has this wrap of how that first White House meeting played out and what Zelenskyy and his friends are no doubt keen to avoid happening again.

Ukraine deal off, Trump says after public spat with Zelenskyy

In an unprecedented argument live on TV, US President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday he should “be thankful,” accusing Volodymyr Zelensk…

"Everyone wants a just peace and true security. And at this very moment, the Russians are striking Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy region, Odesa, residential buildings, and our civilian infrastructure," Ukraine's president wrote in a post on X.

Zelenskyy accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to "humiliate diplomatic efforts," adding, "That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings."

Zelenskyy said that Moscow is aware of the White House meeting later on Monday, but strikes on his country haven't stopped.

"The war must be brought to an end. And it is Moscow that must hear 'stop,'" Zelenskyy said in conclusion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the US capital on Sunday night ahead of a crucial meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump and a string of European leaders on Monday, a united bid to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

That’s hot on the heels of a summit Trump held with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, after which Trump appeared to drop his hardline approach to Moscow and forgot all about his demands for an immediate ceasefire.

So what’s at stake for Monday’s talks, how might they go and what can we expect? Aleksandar Brezar has put all the information together in the article below.

Zelenskyy seeks security pledge ahead of crucial White House meeting

Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump and EU leaders in Washington later on Monday to seek security guarantees amid the US push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.