Trump to meet Zelenskyy, Europe leaders at White House

The French president landed at Dulles Airport outside Washington, DC, at 11:26 a.m. ET.

He will head directly to the White House.

— Kevin Breuninger

Today’s meetings come three days after Trump and Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, for several hours, but ended that session without a ceasefire that the U.S. president had said he wanted.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said after that meeting on Friday.

On Saturday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that a ceasefire was “not off the table.”

– Dan Mangan

Starmer has landed at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington, D.C., for the planned meetings.

– Dan Mangan

European Council President Antonio Costa said he will convene a video conference of members of the council for Tuesday “for a debriefing of today’s meetings in Washington DC about Ukraine.”

“Together with the US, the EU will continue working towards a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” Costa wrote in a tweet.

The European Council is comprised of the heads of state of European Union member nations.

– Dan Mangan

Michael O’Hanlon, foreign policy research director at the Brookings Institution, says that one question ahead of the talks is whether the U.S. can “cajole President Zelenskyy into at least a de facto swap,” giving up some land in exchange for a peace deal.

“It may not have to be something that could be legally blessed and Ukraine could still retain its claims to all the land … but acknowledge that for now and forever it’s not going to fight to get that land back,” he tells CNBC.

He says that he believes European leaders are “pragmatic enough to know that Ukraine’s not going to win back all of its land.”

— Erin Doherty

Oil prices are barely budging ahead of Trump’s talks with Zelenskyy and other European leaders, as investors look for developments on Russia’s war in Ukraine that could affect global energy flows.

That lack of movement coincides with Trump appearing to back off his threats to impose additional sanctions on Russia, even though his Alaskan summit with Putin produced no ceasefire or peace agreements.

Russia has faced U.S. sanctions on parts of its oil industry over the war. But Trump recently hit a third country, India, with higher tariffs because, he said, it continues to buy Russian oil.

Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s top trade advisors, slammed India earlier today for continuing to buy Russian crude oil, calling the Asian nation “opportunistic” in an op-ed for the Financial Times.

— Kevin Breuninger

UK Prime Minister Starmer posted a video on X from his plane explaining his reasons for flying to Washington to meet with Trump and Zelensky.

“This war in Ukraine’s been going on a really long time now, I mean, three-plus years. Hugely impacted the Ukrainians, who have suffered hugely, ” Starmer said.

“But it’s also impacted Europe. It’s impacted every single family and community in the United Kingdom, and so everybody wants it to end, not the least the Ukrainians,” he said.

“But we’ve got to get this right,” Starmer added. “We’ve got to make sure there is peace, that it is lasting peace, and that is fair and that it is just, and that’s why I’m traveling to Washington with other European leaders to discuss this face-to-face with President Trump and President Zelenskyy.”

“Because it’s in everyone’s interests, it’s in the UK’s interests, that we get this right,” he said.

– Dan Mangan

Zelenskyy has finished his meeting with Trump’s Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, which took place in the last hour at the Hay-Adams Hotel across from the White House.

“​When peace is discussed for one country in Europe, it means peace for all of Europe. We are ready to continue working with maximum effort to end the war and to ensure reliable security. These are the key issues,” Zelenskyy said afterwards.

— Christina Wilkie

European leaders plan to begin arriving at the White House around 12 p.m. ET

Trump is expected to greet Zelenskyy at the White House at 1 p.m. ET.

The two leaders are scheduled to begin bilateral talks there at 1:15 p.m.

– Dan Mangan

While it’s unusual for so many European leaders to travel to the White House at once, each making the trip has already met with Trump during his second term.

Zelenskyy notoriously met with Trump in February, during a meeting that quickly devolved into a shouting match.

While this will be von der Leyen’s first time at the White House this term, she has met with the president before, including last month in Turnberry, Scotland.

Rutte has traveled to the White House at least twice since Trump’s return to office, once in March and the other time in July.

Starmer, Merz, Meloni and Macron have all previously met with Trump at the White House at least once, while Stubb is making his first trip this term.

Stubb played golf with Trump earlier this year, however.

— Erin Doherty

Trump continued to complain about the ongoing criticism of his summit with Putin in Alaska last Friday, which ended with no ceasefire or peace deal and was followed by an abridged “press conference” that allowed no questions from the press.

“I am totally convinced that if Russia raised their hands and said, ‘We give up, we concede, we surrender, we will GIVE Ukraine and the great United States of America, the most revered, respected, and powerful of all countries, EVER, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and everything surrounding them for a thousand miles, the Fake News Media and their Democrat Partners would say that this was a bad and humiliating day for Donald J. Trump, one of the worst days in the history of our Country,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“But that’s why they are the FAKE NEWS, and the badly failing Radical Left Democrats. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”

— Kevin Breuninger

Hours before his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately attacking civilian targets in Ukraine in order to undermine the upcoming peace talks at the White House and raise pressure on Kyiv and Europe.

“This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike,” Zelenskyy wrote in an X post that included video footage of an apartment building on fire with massive holes in its roof.

He said at least 10 people have been killed and dozens more injured in Russian attacks in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and the Sumy region. He also said that Russia struck an Azerbaijani-owned energy facility in Odesa, calling it “an attack not only on us but also on our relations and energy security.”

“Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings,” Zelenskyy said. “That is why reliable security guarantees are required. That is why Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war. The war must be ended. And it is Moscow that must hear the word: ‘Stop.'”

— Kevin Breuninger

Trump said it is “a big day at the White House” in a Truth Social post ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy.

“We have never had so many European Leaders here at one time,” he wrote, calling the convening of leaders across the European Union a “great honor for America.”

“Lets see what the results will be???” he continued.

The European leaders, which include French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are set to arrive at the White House at noon.

— Erin Doherty