European leaders are set to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a Monday visit to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump. Their collective effort aims to find a way to end Russia’s invasion, a diplomatic push that includes a US offer of security guarantees for Kyiv. This meeting follows a summit in Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which failed to produce an immediate ceasefire that the US leader had been advocating for.
After the Alaska summit, Trump shifted his focus to a peace deal, posting on his Truth Social platform, “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!” without providing further details. Trump’s Russia envoy Steve Witkoff stated that Trump and Putin had agreed on “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine.
However, Zelensky, during a visit to Brussels, rejected the idea of Russia offering security guarantees, stating, “What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin’s thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees.” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the US offer of security guarantees modeled on—but separate from—NATO’s collective security arrangement, known as Article 5.
Territorial Concessions and Diplomatic Push
Trump’s pivot to seeking a peace deal aligns with Putin’s long-held stance, which Ukraine and its European allies have criticized as a tactic for Moscow to buy time and make battlefield gains. Zelensky also expressed skepticism about a potential three-way summit with Trump and Putin, saying he saw “no sign” that the Kremlin leader was prepared for it.
The European leaders joining Zelensky in Washington on Monday, a group they call the “coalition of the willing,” includes French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
In his CNN interview, Witkoff said the US is prepared to offer “game-changing” security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a process that would involve territorial “concessions.” A source briefed on a phone call with Trump revealed that the US leader supported a Putin proposal for Russia to take full control of two eastern Ukrainian regions—Donetsk and Lugansk—in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian president has reportedly refused to cede the Donbas region.
Meanwhile, the conflict continues, with both Kyiv and Moscow launching attack drones at each other on Sunday.
