{"id":356159,"date":"2025-08-19T06:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T06:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/356159\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T06:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T06:50:10","slug":"what-to-know-about-trumps-talks-with-zelenskyy-and-european-leaders-russia-ukraine-war-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/356159\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Trump\u2019s talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders | Russia-Ukraine war News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders met<\/a> with United States President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss plans to bring an end to Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Trump convened the meeting after last week\u2019s three-hour summit<\/a> with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, where Putin rejected the idea of a ceasefire before reaching a comprehensive peace deal and urged Ukraine to surrender territory in the east in exchange for freezing the front line elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Trump and Zelenskyy\u2019s interactions were notably warmer than during their tense encounter at the White House in February, with the US president even praising his counterpart\u2019s suit.<\/p>\n

Here are the key takeaways:<\/p>\n

Trump says US will give Ukraine \u2018very good protection\u2019<\/p>\n

Trump said the US would back Europe in protecting Ukraine as part of a deal to end the war with Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to security, there\u2019s going to be a lot of help,\u201d Trump said, describing European countries as the \u201cfirst line of defence\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have people waiting in another room, right now, they\u2019re all here from Europe,\u201d Trump added. \u201cBiggest people in Europe. And they want to give protection. They feel very strongly about it, and we\u2019ll help them out with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump also said that US support for Ukraine would continue regardless of the outcome of the talks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never the end of the road. People are being killed, and we want to stop that. So, I would not say it was the end of the road. I think we have a good chance of doing it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy hailed<\/a> the pledge as \u201ca major step forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

He later told reporters that Ukraine had offered to buy about $90bn worth of US weapons.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy says he\u2019s open to elections in Ukraine, if safe<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy backed elections, provided they are held under safe circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, of course. We are open, yes\u2026 We need to work in the parliament because during the war, you can\u2019t have elections, but we can, we can do security,\u201d Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a truce\u2026 to make it possible for people to do democratic, open, legal, legal elections,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Trump says ceasefire not needed<\/p>\n

When asked if he would carry out his promise from last week to impose \u201csevere consequences\u201d on Russia if it does not end the war, Trump replied that a ceasefire may not be needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you need a ceasefire,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war. I didn\u2019t do any ceasefires. And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why one country or the other wouldn\u2019t want it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we can work a deal where we\u2019re working on a peace deal while they\u2019re fighting,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have to fight. I wish they could stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has claimed credit for helping to end six wars, including conflicts between India and Pakistan and Cambodia and Thailand.<\/p>\n

Ukraine needs \u2018everything\u2019 related to security guarantees: Zelenskyy<\/p>\n

Asked what guarantees Zelenskyy would need from Trump to agree to a deal, the Ukrainian leader responded: \u201ceverything\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes two parts. First, a strong Ukrainian army that I began to discuss with your colleagues, and it\u2019s a lot about weapons and people and training issues and intelligence,\u201d Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n

\n

Today, important negotiations took place in Washington. We discussed many issues with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions about the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer. There were also several meetings in a\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/YqkdRlyKCI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Volodymyr Zelenskyy \/ \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Trump sits down with European leaders<\/p>\n

After his initial meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump held a multilateral meeting with the Ukrainian leader and European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.<\/p>\n

The US president described it as an \u201chonour\u201d to convene with them at the White House, saying they were united in their goal of ending Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a very successful day thus far, and important discussions as we work to end the killing and stop the war in Ukraine,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

\n

President Trump and President Zelenskyy en route to meet with the European leaders pic.twitter.com\/EHvttm7nDl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) August 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Trump will seek summit<\/strong> between Zelenskyy and Putin<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 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 Zelenskyy,\u201d he wrote in a post on Truth Social after the talks.<\/p>\n

Trump said Russia agreed to accept security guarantees for Ukraine<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we\u2019re going to be considering that at the table,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

He expressed optimism that, collectively, an agreement could be reached to deter further aggression against Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Putin-Zelenskyy discussions will likely involve Ukraine ceding territory<\/p>\n

Trump also said discussions would need to address the possible exchange of territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, this is a decision that can only be made by President Zelenskyy and by the people of Ukraine, working also in agreement with President Putin,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, according to open-source estimates. Ukraine, which took control of a large swath of Russia\u2019s Kursk region during a surprise counter-offensive last year, is not believed to hold any Russian territory at present.<\/p>\n

Trump added that he expected Putin to release Ukrainian prisoners soon.<\/p>\n

\"UkrainianUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, at the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025 [Al Drago\/Reuters]European leaders lay out positions<\/p>\n