Russia-Ukraine LIVE: Zelensky must ‘show flexibility’ in Putin peace talks and there will be no US ‘troops on the ground’ in Ukraine, says Trump after White House love-in

By MARK DUELL, SENIOR REPORTER

Updated: 10:08 EDT, 19 August 2025

Donald Trump has called on Volodymyr Zelensky to show ‘some flexibility’ ahead of bilateral peace talks with Vladimir Putin and said the UK could have boots on the ground as part of Ukraine’s security guarantees.

The US President was speaking after a White House summit with European leaders aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine in which he confirmed Russia and Ukraine’s leaders will meet for talks.

The US President spoke directly with the Russian president to begin planning a meeting between the two warring leaders, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting involving himself.

Follow the Daily Mail’s liveblog throughout today for all the latest updates

Slovak PM says talks about land changes needed to end Ukraine war

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has said Western countries must accept that Ukraine cannot join NATO and that discussions about changes to its territory will be necessary to help end the war.

Speaking after a meeting of European Union leaders, Fico said:

The first basic prerequisite for ending the conflict is the understanding that Ukraine cannot become a NATO member state.

Equally important is the factual understanding that without a discussion on territorial changes in Ukraine, we will not move forward.

Five key takeaways from Donald Trump’s latest remarks on Russia-Ukraine war

Donald Trump has spoken to US TV show Fox and Friends this morning hours after his White House summit reignited hopes in Europe for a peace deal after an apparent breakthrough in security guarantees for Ukraine.

Here’s five key takeaways from his interview:

• Trump ruled out American boots on the ground and said Ukraine was not going to be a part of Nato but that European troops would deter any future Russian invasion
• He suggested Vladimir Putin was ‘tired’ of the war but it was still possible the Russian President would not strike a peace deal over Ukraine.
• Trump said Putin would face a ‘rough situation’ if he did not co-operate in the peace process, while Volodymyr Zelensky had to ‘show some flexibility’.
• The US President confirmed he did not call Vladimir Putin in front of European leaders out of respect for the Russian President.
• Asked whether he discussed potential ‘land swap’ deals with world leaders, Trump claimed Ukraine is going to ‘get a lot’ of territory returned

The four obstacles to peace in Russia-Ukraine war

The second Oval Office meeting in six months between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went off smoothly Monday, in sharp contrast to their disastrous encounter in February.

European leaders joined the discussions in a show of transatlantic unity and both they and Zelenskyy repeatedly thanked Trump for his efforts to end Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine.

But despite the guarded optimism and friendly banter among the leaders, there was little concrete progress on the main obstacles to ending the war – and that deadlock likely favors Putin, whose forces continue to make steady, if slow progress on the ground in Ukraine.

Let’s take a look at four obstacles in the way of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal:

To agree to a peace deal with Russia, Ukraine wants assurances that it can deter any future attacks by the Kremlin’s forces.

It could potentially also mean offering Ukraine a guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate, which sees an attack on one member of the alliance as an attack on all. But Trump has all but ruled out Ukraine joining NATO. Russia has today said it also wants security guarantees.

Ukraine and its European supporters have repeatedly called for a ceasefire while peace talks are held. Putin has balked at that prospect. With his forces inching forward in Ukraine, he has little incentive to freeze their movement. Ahead of his meeting with the Russian leader last week, Trump threatened Russia with ‘severe consequences”‘ if it didn’t accept a ceasefire. Afterward, he dropped that demand and said it was best to focus on a comprehensive peace deal – as Putin has pushed for.

• Occupied Ukrainian territory

Zelensky and European leaders said that Putin has demanded that Ukraine give up the Donbas, an industrial region in eastern Ukraine that has seen some of the most intense fighting but that Russian forces have failed to capture completely. Moscow’s forces also hold Crimea as well as parts of six other regions – all adding up to about one-fifth of Ukraine. Zelensky has long noted the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits breaking up his country.

Zelensky has repeatedly suggested sitting down with Putin, even challenging the Russian leader to meet him as part of direct peace talks between the two sides in Turkey in May. Putin snubbed that offer, saying that significant progress on an agreement would have to be made before the pair met in person. On Monday, Trump appeared to back Zelensky’s plan and arrangements for a meeting between leaders had started.

It would be fair to say that the mood among my Ukrainian friends yesterday morning was positively bubbling – the most optimistic I have heard them for ages.

The series of Trump-Zelensky-Europe meetings in Washington were not just good, they said. They were the best, the best so far.

After the horror of watching Putin get the red-carpet treatment in Alaska, they think they are on the verge of gaining something priceless, a prize that Donald Trump has now offered where none of his predecessors had the balls.

Coalition of the willing to meet US officials in ‘coming days’ to draw up security guarantees

Coalition of the willing planners will meet their US counterparts ‘in the coming days’, amid efforts to advance on ‘robust security guarantees’ for Ukraine, Downing Street has said.

The group of 31 nations, set up to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace, met virtually today in a meeting co-chaired by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.

A No 10 spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer) co-chaired a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing this morning with over 30 international leaders to update on the talks in Washington last night.

The Prime Minister began by reflecting on the constructive meeting, saying it was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

Turning to next steps, the Prime Minister outlined that coalition of the willing planning teams would meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.

Obama’s Russia ambassador gives stunning verdict on Trump’s Ukraine peace talks

by Phillip Nieto, US Political Reporter

One of Donald Trump’s most outspoken critics over his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war completely changed his tune after Monday’s meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump met with a delegation of European leaders and Zelensky in the Oval Office throughout Monday following his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following Trump’s Alaska summit last week, Barack Obama’s US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, criticized the commander-in-chief for providing ‘no details’ regarding talks with the Russian leader.

However, McFaul changed his tune following the White House summit by calling the meeting ‘very positive’ in an interview with NBC News.

Read the full story here:

Trump claims ‘tired’ Putin may not want a Ukraine peace deal

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would move forward toward ending the war in Ukraine, but conceded that it was possible the Russian leader didn’t want to make a deal.

‘I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it, but you never know,’ Trump said in an interview with the Fox News “Fox & Friends” program.

‘We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks … It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal,’ Trump said, adding that Putin faced a ‘rough situation’ if that was not the case.

Trump says Putin-Zelensky ‘getting along a little bit better than I thought’

Donald Trump has said the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky is ‘doing a little bit better’ in new remarks today.

Asked what has surprised him, Trump told Fox:

I think the fact that maybe they’re getting along a little bit better than I thought, otherwise I wouldn’t have set up the two [bilateral] meeting, I would’ve set up a three — a trilat.

But I think they are doing a little bit better – there has been tremendous bad blood. I think they are doing ok. I wouldn’t say they are ever going to be best friends. But they are doing ok and we are just going to see. So we are setting up a meeting, I sort of set it up with Putin.. and Zelensky and you know they are the ones that have to call the shots.

We are 7,000 miles away in all fairness.

Trump confirms US will not have ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine

President Trump said there will be no US boots on the ground.

You have my assurance, I am President. I am just trying to stop people being killed.

On NATO assurances, he said:

They are not going to be a part of NATO but have got the European nations they will front load it and they will have, some of them, France and Germany, a couple of them, UK, they want to have boots on the ground.

Pushed further, he said that there will be ‘some form of security’ but ‘it can’t be NATO because that’s just mnot something that would ever, ever happen.’

Trump says he didn’t call Putin in front of European leaders

Donald Trump has confirmed he did not call Vladimir Putin in front of European leaders out of respect for the Russian President.

Trump says he called Putin at around 1am Russian time during his meeting with European leaders in the White House.

According to reports, Trump broke off his meeting to make contact with Putin.

Speaking today, Trump said he believes it would have been ‘disrespectful’ to Putin to speak to him in front of world leaders and maintained he has a good relationship with him.

I didn’t do it in front of them. I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin.

Breaking:Trump – Zelensky has to show flexibility

Donald Trump has said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has to show ‘some flexibility’ while adding he hopes Vladimir Putin is ‘good’ during talks to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking on Fox and Friends this morning, the President said he believed resolving the conflict would be ‘one of the easier ones’ after claiming he has settled seven wars since returning to the White House.

Russia returns bodies of 1,000 Ukrainians

Ukrainian authorities have said the bodies of 1,000 nationals have been returned from Russia.

The remains are said to belong to service members killed in action in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kursk regions.

‘Unfortunately, among those repatriated are the bodies of five Ukrainian servicemen who died in captivity,’ a statement by the government agency in charge of repatriation said.

Moscow received 19 bodies of its own fallen soldiers in return, the state -run TASS news agency reported.

Ukrainian forensic experts will now carry out examinations to identify the bodies.

The announcement made by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War comes following a deal struck in Istanbul in June in which Russia and Ukraine agreed to repatriate around 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainians.

Putin pictured at the Kremlin as world waits for peace talks with Zelensky

Vladimir Putin has been pictured at the Kremlin today as the world waits for more details on upcoming peace talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Putin was pictured meeting with Rostislav Goldshtein, acting head of the Komi Republic, in Moscow earlier today.

It comes as Donald Trump revealed arrangements have started for the first meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders since Moscow’s brutal invasion nearly three and a half years ago.

Trump, 79, wrote on his Truth Social network that ‘everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.’

‘At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,’ Trump said.

Trump said he would then hold a three-way summit with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.

Switzerland offers Putin immunity for any peace talks

Switzerland would grant Russian President Vladimir Putin immunity from prosecution if he came to the country for talks on peace in Ukraine, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said today.

Putin faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

But last year, the Swiss government defined ‘the rules for granting immunity to a person under an international arrest warrant. If this person comes for a peace conference, not if they come for private reasons’, Cassis told a press conference.

It comes after Emmanuel Macron suggested Geneva could host talks between Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Neutral Switzerland is a signatory to the ICC but Cassis told Swiss national broadcaster SRF that provided Putin was coming for peace purposes, the country could receive him.

The ICC issued its warrant in 2023, just over a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, accusing Putin of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Pictured: Starmer and Macron co-host fresh talks on Ukraine

Pictures have emerged of the Coalition of the Willing talks co-chaired by Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.

The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron have been leading the talks between nations looking to assist Ukraine.

The coalition of the willing is an international effort to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace, led by the UK, France and Ukraine.

It is made up of 31 countries that have pledged strengthened support for Kyiv, including 27 European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

We’ll bring you details of the talks as and when we can.

Wladimir Klitschko – Putin wants Ukraine to surrender and time to rebuild army

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko has claimed Vladimir Putin is seeking more time to rebuild the Russian army to launch more attacks on Ukraine.

Ukrainian Klitschko, whose older brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv and himself a former heavyweight boxer, said he was pleased to see Europe taking its ‘historic responsibilities seriously’.

The 49-year-old retired sportsman tweeted:

Trump wants a peace deal. But putin doesn’t want peace. He wants Ukraine to surrender. He wants time to rebuild his forces so he can attack again. The good news today is that Europe is taking its historic responsibilities seriously. Because everyone knows that to have peace in Europe, russian imperialism must be stopped.Let’s stick together.

Watch: Behind the scenes of White House summit

Take a look behind the scenes at the White House on Monday as Ukraine’s President and European leaders met Donald Trump following his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week.

Russia insists it has security guarantees in Ukraine peace deal

Russia has today insisted it has security guarantees ahead of a possible peace deal with Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said no-long term deal can be reached ‘without respect for Russia’s security and full recognition of the rights of Russians in Ukraine’.

Lavrov’s remarks came a day after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met and expressed hope that their discussions could pave the way for three-way talks involving Vladimir Putin.

Speaking on state TV’s Rossiya-24 channel, Lavrov said Russia remained committed to efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine, including both bilateral and trilateral formats.

‘The president has reiterated this many times,’ Lavrov said.

The key point is that these formats are not pursued for the sake of media coverage or evening broadcasts. Any contacts involving national leaders must be prepared with the utmost thoroughness.

Watch: Starmer explains why peace is closer in Ukraine after ‘positive’ White House summitWhat could Ukraine’s security guarantees look like?

Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted there will be security guarantees for Ukraine but details have yet to emerge on what they will be.

As European allies hold further talks today, the world is waiting for a clearer picture on the protections in place for Ukraine when the war is over.

Donald Trump said he discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, adding Putin had agreed to them despite ruling out Kyiv’s dream of joining the NATO alliance.

NATO membership would offer the protections of Article 5 – an attack on one member is to be treated as an attack on all, and members would be bound to come to Ukraine’s aid in the event of a renewed offensive.

Russia would see this as an aggressive advance towards its borders, and Donald Trump has ruled out Ukraine’s accession.

The Financial Times, citing a document seen by the newspaper, said Ukraine had undertaken to buy $100 billion of US weapons financed by Europe in return for US guarantees for its security.

Zelensky later spoke to reporters about a $90-billion package, and said Ukraine and its allies would formalise the terms of the security guarantees within 10 days.

The presence of the European leaders however also underscored continuing nervousness about whether Trump will pivot towards Putin as he has on a number of occasions.

Zelensky insists ‘there will be security guarantees’ ahead of further talks

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted there ‘will be security guarantees’ for his country as talks continue today following the White House summit.

Zelensky said discussions with Trump were the best he had held so far to resolve the conflict.

Writing on X today, he said:

This was truly a significant step toward ending the war and ensuring the security of Ukraine and our people. We are already working on the concrete content of the security guarantees. Today, we continue coordination at the level of leaders. There will be discussions, and we are preparing the relevant formats. We will also continue working tomorrow. National security advisors are also in constant contact now. There will be security guarantees.

Putin aide critcises European approach to peace summit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today said it was clear at Friday’s US-Russia Alaska summit that Donald Trump and his team sincerely wanted to achieve a long-term and sustainable peace in Ukraine.

Lavrov (pictured) said the atmosphere at the Putin-Trump summit was ‘very good.’

‘It was clear that the head of the United States and his team, firstly, sincerely want to achieve a result that will be long-term, sustainable, reliable,’ Lavrov told the Rossiya 24 state television channel.

Lavrov contrasted what he said was the constructive U.S. position to that of Europe, some of whose leaders took part in an extraordinary summit at the White House on Monday with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine.

Lavrov said ‘the Europeans had… insisted at every turn only on a cease-fire, and that after that they would continue to supply weapons to Ukraine.’

MARK ALMOND: Positive noises, but we know who will have the last word in Trump’s ear

by Mark Almond for the Daily Mail

Donald Trump emphasised several times, during the course of a raucous and sometimes rambling press conference prior to talks at the White House, that he wants lasting peace, not a temporary respite, between Russia and Ukraine.

A cynic might say that’s because the Nobel committee awards a Peace prize, not a Ceasefire prize.

Trump is widely believed to covet that bauble, which his predecessor Barack Obama got almost on his arrival in the White House in 2009.

The European leaders, as well as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, played pleased in front of the cameras with Donald Trump’s talks with Putin, but Trump’s desire for a quick peace settlement is fraught with dangers.

Starmer and Macron to co-chair ‘coalition of the willing’ talks today

Sir Keir Starmer will co-chair a call of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ this morning.

The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron have been leading the talks between nations looking to assist Ukraine.

Sir Keir and several European leaders travelled to Washington for talks with Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump on Monday.

The coalition of the willing is an international effort to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace, led by the UK, France and Ukraine.

It is made up of 31 countries that have pledged strengthened support for Kyiv, including 27 European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Putin’s brutal response to peace talks as Russia pounds Ukraine in overnight attack

NATO was forced to scramble warplanes overnight as Vladimir Putin launched brutal missile and drone strikes, which left the smoke-choked Ukrainian city Kremenchuk looking like a scene from Armageddon.

The horrific Russian attacks came even as Donald Trump claimed the Russian tyrant had agreed to peace talks with Volodymyr Zelensky, with hopes that a meeting would take place by the end of August.

This followed the Trump-Zelensky talks and the involvement of Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders in a White House session aimed at ending the war.

But there were immediate doubts on Putin’s sincerity, both from his overnight use of strategic bombers to hit Ukraine, and his aide Yury Ushakov failing to specify that the Kremlin leader would personally take part in talks with Zelensky while accepting the level of seniority of the delegation could be raised.

Read the full story here:

Starmer urged to ‘call out’ Trump’s ‘massive concession’ to Putin

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has urged the UK government to ‘call out’ a ‘massive concession’ to Putin after Donald Trump backed away from demands for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking this morning on LBC, Sir Ed said European leaders should make clear to the Kremlin and the White House that they will not back a peace agreement ‘just because Trump wants to do a deal’.

We’re still digesting what occurred in the White House, but I’m still pretty worried that Donald Trump just wants to do a deal with Vladimir Putin, and that comes first, rather than the interest of Ukraine and European security.

We need to send a message to the Kremlin and indeed the White House, that we are there with Ukraine to the end. And that’s why we’re we’ve been saying, give them more military support… seize those frozen Russian assets, send that signal that we’re not there to back some deal.. that Trump wants, just because Trump wants to do a deal.

Macron brands Putin an ‘ogre at our gates’ in new warning to Europe

Macron, Trump and Zelensky at the White House summit on Monday

Emmanuel Macron today warned his European allies not to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin whom he called ‘an ogre at our gates’.

The French President’s remarks came as Russian and Ukrainian leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky look set for a peace summit after fast-moving talks between Donald Trump and Europe on security guarantees for Kyiv.

‘Putin has rarely honoured his commitments,’ Macron told the LCI broadcaster. ‘He has constantly been a force for destabilisation. He has sought to redraw borders to increase his power.’

Macron said he did not believe that Russia would ‘return to peace and a democratic system from one day to the next’.

Describing how Putin ‘needs to keep eating’ in order to ensure his survival, Macron added: ‘That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates.’

European markets open higher as oil prices drop

European shares opened higher this morning and oil prices slid as traders evaluate diplomatic signals toward ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The euro crept up against the dollar after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said security guarantees for his nation will likely be worked out within 10 days after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.1% as did Britain’s FTSE 100. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2% and Germany’s DAX tacked on 0.1%.

Oil slipped as market participants contemplated a potential end to the conflict, which could lead to an end to sanctions on Russian crude.

U.S. crude sank 0.9% to $62.88 a barrel. Brent crude fell 0.8% to $66.07. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,339.54 per ounce.

Shares were muted in the Asian session as traders awaited policy hints from the Federal Reserve ahead of its annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Ex-Russian president taunts Europe by telling leaders they ‘failed to outplay Trump’

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has taunted European leaders by claiming they failed to ‘outplay’ Donald Trump.

In a social media post written in English, Medvedev said:

The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay @POTUS on his turf. Europe thanked & sucked up to him.”

Medvedev added there was a question about ‘what tune’ Zelensky would play about security guarantees once ‘he’s put on his green military uniform again.’

Trump told Zelensky on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the war in Ukraine, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.

Russia launches overnight drone attack amid hope for peace talks

The Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk was hit by a Russian drone attack overnight in an act the mayor claims is a sign Vladimir Putin is not interested in a peace deal.

According to the Ukrainian air force, the offensive was the largest so far in August with Russia launching 270 drones and 10 missiles. Ukraine said it downed 230 drones and six missiles but recorded strikes at 16 locations.

Vitalii Maletskyi, mayor of the city that lies in the Poltava region, said:

At the very same time when Putin was assuring Trump over the phone that he seeks peace, and when President Volodymyr Zelensky was holding talks at the White House with European leaders about a just peace, Putin’s army launched yet another massive attack on Kremenchuk.

Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace — he wants to destroy Ukraine.

Maletskyi said scores of blasts shook the city, targeting energy and transport infrastructure, leaving hundreds of people in the Poltava region without power.

There was no immediate comment from Russia.

China pledges support for Russia-Ukraine peace talks

China has said it supports ‘all efforts’ towards peace between Russia and Ukraine after presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky looked set for a summit in the coming weeks.

‘China always believes that dialogue and negotiation are the only solution to the Ukraine crisis,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, adding: ‘We support all efforts that are conducive to peace.’

Macron makes suggestion on where to hold Putin-Zelensky peace talks

French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested Geneva host a peace summit between Russian and Ukrainian leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking after he and other European leaders joined the Ukrainian president for high-stakes meetings at the White House on Monday, Macron said the announced Zelensky-Putin summit would be held in Europe.

‘It will be (hosted by) a neutral country, maybe Switzerland – I’m pushing for Geneva – or another country,’ Macron said in an interview aired today on French news channel LCI.

‘The last time there were bilateral talks, they were held in Istanbul,’ he added, referring to the three rounds of lower-level negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Turkey between May and July.

Macron said France and Britain would hold a meeting Tuesday with other Ukrainian allies to ‘keep them up to date on what was decided’ in Washington on providing security guarantees for Ukraine, a key talking point in the meetings with Trump.

Geneva has been touted as a possible base for peace talks

Top photographs from White House summitWhat are the key updates from the summit?

Welcome to the Daily Mail’s liveblog if you’re just joining us.

US President Donald Trump says he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun to arrange a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

This is seen as a critical step toward bringing a possible end to Russia’s war on Ukraine. Mr Trump said the meeting’s location will be determined later.

Mr Trump, Mr Zelenskyy and European leaders met at the White House yesterday for hastily assembled multilateral talks, which came after Trump met with Putin last Friday.

European political leaders joined discussions as they pursue means to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has shared her gratitude to American First Lady Melania Trump for her letter challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read the full story from US reporter Melissa Koenig here:

Nato membership for Ukraine ‘not discussed’

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said Nato membership for Ukraine was not under discussion but that there was a discussion on ‘Article 5’-type security guarantees for the country.

Article 5 of Nato’s founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, in which an attack on any of its 32 members is considered an attack on all.

Joining the Atlantic alliance is a strategic objective for Ukraine – and Mr Rutte’s comments noted that a security guarantee of that scale could be offered to Ukraine in lieu of Nato membership.

You can also read this article from US senior reporter Stephen M. Lepore which looks at how Zelensky delivered a masterful charm offensive to win over Donald Trump and set up a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin.

Latest updates on Daily Mail’s Facebook page

You can also keep up to date with all the latest news via the Daily Mail’s Facebook page, which includes a link to this article about Zelensky wearing more formal attire for his meeting:

Today’s Daily Mail front page

Here is today’s Daily Mail front page, which leads with a piece by Quentin Letts and the headline: ‘It was electric with jeopardy, a chess match with live grenades’.

You can buy a copy of today’s newspaper for £1.20, or it’s 90p to subscribers.

In a hot mic moment, President Trump appeared to be reassuring French President Emmanuel Macron that Russian President Vladimir Putin was serious about making peace in Ukraine.

Read what he said in this piece from the Mail’s Nikki Schwab in the US:

All eyes on Zelensky’s attire

Mr Zelensky, whom Mr Trump greeted at the door of the West Wing with a handshake earlier in the evening, wore a black shirt with buttons and a black blazer to the meeting at the White House.

His attire had appeared to become a point of irritation for Mr Trump during a previous meeting in February.

Mark Almond, director of the Crisis Research Institute in Oxford, has given his analysis of the White House talks.

In this piece for Mail+, he says: ‘It won’t be the Europeans or President Zelensky who had the last word in Donald Trump’s ear.’

How has Donald Trump described the talks?

Posting on his Truth Social platform after the meeting, Mr Trump described the talks as ‘very good’, adding: ‘During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which guarantees would be provided by the various European countries, with a coordination with the United States of America.

‘Everyone is happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.

‘At the conclusion of the meetings, I called president Putin and began arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between president Putin and president Zelensky.

‘After the meeting takes place, we will have a trilat which would be the two presidents plus myself.’

Before the White House talks, the US president said he would ‘probably’ be able to find common ground with the leaders on a plan to ward off future attacks on Ukraine.

He previously met with Mr Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, where he declared there was ‘no deal until there’s a deal’ to end more than three years of fighting in eastern Europe.

Starmer hails ‘real progress’ during summit

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed ‘real progress’ made during the White House summit yesterday with European leaders aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister was one of several European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, in attendance for the discussions in Washington.

Speaking after the event, Sir Keir described the talks as ‘good and constructive’, adding: ‘There was a real sense of unity between the European leaders that were there, and president Trump and president Zelensky’.

The Prime Minister highlighted ‘two material outcomes’ from the talks, firstly that the coalition of the willing ‘will now work with the US’ on security guarantees.

‘That’s really important for security in Ukraine, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK,’ Sir Keir said.

‘The other material outcome was the agreement that there will now be a bilateral agreement between president Putin and president Zelensky, that was after a phone call between president Trump and president Putin during the course of this afternoon, followed by a trilateral which will then add in President Trump.’

Let’s start with a look at the Daily Mail’s top story, which is that Vladimir Putin has failed to commit to peace talks with President Zelensky after yesterday’s summit.

This is fuelling fears the Russian leader will pull out of efforts to end the Ukraine war at the last minute. Read the full article here:

Welcome to the Daily Mail’s liveblog

Good morning and welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage, after Donald Trump said Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky will meet.

It follows a dramatic White House summit yesterday with European leaders aimed at bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

The US President spoke directly with the Russian president to begin planning a meeting between the two warring leaders, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting involving himself.

Stay with us throughout today for all the latest updates.

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Russia-Ukraine LIVE: Zelensky must ‘show flexibility’ in Putin peace talks and there will be no US ‘troops on the ground’ in Ukraine, says Trump after White House love-in