Ukraine-Russia war latest: Starmer and European leaders to join Zelensky in show of support at crucial Trump meeting
Downing Street confirmed the prime minister would be attending, after six key allies announced they would be travelling to Washington in a show of support for Ukraine.
Finish president Alexander Stubb, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron are among those who will on hand to prevent any flare-ups between the Ukrainian president and Trump, and to represent Europe's interests.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will also be in attendance at the request of Zelensky..
The Russian leader told Trump that he would be prepared to stop fighting on the rest of the frontline if Ukraine gave in to the demand.
The concessions were discussed at the summit of the two leaders in Alaska on Friday, which ended with no peace deal despite nearly three hours of talks. Sources very close to the meeting told The Independent the dramatic move appears to have been endorsed by Mr Trump as a means to bring an end to the war.
Swedish prime minister to attend Sunday's 'Coalition of the Willing' meeting
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson will virtually attend Sunday's meeting with the "Coalition of the Willing", ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskiys visit to Washington on Monday, a spokesperson from the prime minister's office told Reuters.
Kristersson will however not fly to Washington together with Zelensky alongside other European leaders on Monday, the spokesperson said.
Holly Evans17 August 2025 13:15
Holly Evans17 August 2025 13:00
Is Zelensky about to walk into another White House ambush?
The free world's most celebrated president is showing some mettle in agreeing to a meeting with the leader of the free world. When Volodymyr Zelensky walks into the Oval Office on Monday, he knows he's risking another ambush.
The Ukrainian president is prepared to gamble that he'll get another White House schoolyard bullying session, because there's a slim chance that Donald Trump may finally have tired of being played by the Kremlin.
It is now conceivable, just, that Trump is prepared to consider security guarantees for Ukraine that reflect Nato's Article 5, which could mean that if Ukraine signed up to a peace deal then its long-term future sovereignty and security would be protected, by force of arms, by allies including the US.
Is Zelensky about to walk into another White House ambush after Trump-Putin meeting?
Trump's problem with Zelensky is personal but, as World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley explains, he may finally understand that Ukraine cannot be handed to Putin
Holly Evans17 August 2025 13:00
Putin discusses Alaska summit with Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the press service of the Belarusian president said via its Telegram channel on Sunday.
"Two Presidents discussed the situation in the region in the light of the talks in Alaska. Putin informed his Belarusian counterpart in detail about the results of the last Russia-US summit," the press service said.
Holly Evans17 August 2025 12:45
Sir Keir Starmer to travel to Washington to meet Trump
Sir Keir Starmer will join President Zelensky and European leaders for a meeting with President Trump at the White House on Monday, Downing Street has said.
Holly Evans17 August 2025 12:29
Merz, Macron and Meloni to join Zelensky – but no word from Starmer
European leaders will join Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky when he meets Donald Trump for peace talks at the White House on Monday.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish president Alexander Stubb were the first leaders to confirm they will join Mr Zelensky in Washington DC.
Mr Zelensky's Oval Office rendezvous with the US president will take place after Western allies meet for a coalition of the willing video call on Sunday afternoon.
Downing Street would not comment on whether Sir Keir plans to travel to Washington to join other European leaders on Monday.
European leaders to support Zelensky in Trump talks – but no word from Starmer
Western leaders will host a call of the coalition of the willing on Sunday to discuss steps to ending the war in Ukraine
Holly Evans17 August 2025 12:11
Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni to travel to Washington
Giorgia Meloni is the latest European leader to announce she will be joining Volodymyr Zelensky for his meeting at the White House on Monday.
Her office confirmed she would be joining Germany's Friedrich Merz, France's Emmanuel Macron, and Finland's Alexander Stubb.
Holly Evans17 August 2025 11:58
Emmanuel Macron also to go to Washington with Zelensky
President Emmanuel Macron will also go to Washington with President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside other European leaders on Monday, the French presidency office said in a statement on Sunday.
The leaders will pursue the "coordination work between the Europeans and the United States with the goal of coming to a just and lasting peace that preserves the vital interests of Ukraine and the security of Europe", the statement said.
German chancellor Merz to join Zelensky in Washington
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will also accompany Zelensky and other European leaders on a visit to Washington for discussions with Donald Trump about Ukraine, the German government said on Sunday.
"The talks will address, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression. This includes maintaining pressure on sanctions," the government said.
Holly Evans17 August 2025 11:25
EU's von der Leyen to meet Trump in White House
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X that she will be meeting U.S. President Donald Trump along with other European leaders in the White House on Monday at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
She also said that she will welcome Zelensky in Brussels later on Sunday and together will participate in a meeting of European leaders.
Holly Evans17 August 2025 11:24
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Moment flustered Putin winces as he's bombarded with questions from the free press asking him if he will 'stop killing civilians'
This is the moment a flustered Putin winced as he was bombarded with questions from the free press who asked whether he would 'stop killing civilians' in Ukraine. Sat alongside Donald Trump ahead of their meeting in Alaska on Friday, Vladimir Putin looked visibly uncomfortable as he was queried about a possible ceasefire. As members of the free press were ushered out of the room, Putin found himself surrounded by US journalists that were seeking accountability for the Russian leader. While President Trump appeared to be appreciative of the press' questions, remarking: ' Thank you very much, thank you', Putin, however, seemed somewhat out of his depth. Indeed, his slight smile quickly fell as one reporter shouted out: 'Mr Putin, will you break ceasefire?', before another journalist asked: 'Will you commit to not killing any more civilians?' 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Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev told Interfax news agency that the Trump-Putin meeting had gone 'incredibly well'. However, Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Merezhko slammed the summit as a 'failure'. He said: 'I think it's a failure because Putin was again talking about security concerns and used his usual rhetoric,' he told The New York Times. 'I don't see any changes.' On Sunday morning, the US President hit back at his critics, posting on his social media platform Truth Social On Sunday morning, the US President hit back at his critics, posting on his social media platform Truth Social: 'It's incredible how the Fake News violently distorts the TRUTH when it comes to me. 'There is NOTHING I can say or do that would lead them to write or report honestly about me. I had a great meeting in Alaska on Biden's stupid War, a war that should have never happened!!!' 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15 minutes ago
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To do that, they will have to project a more convincing sense of resolve and common purpose than they have managed hitherto, argued Ben Rhodes, a former adviser to Barack Obama. 'My advice would be to not capitulate to Trump,' Rhodes said. 'He has grown all too accustomed to people he perceives as weaker bending to his will, which is something that Putin does not do … Zelenskyy cannot be expected to do this alone, as that's what got him into that last mess in the Oval Office. Zelenskyy needs Europe. And the Europeans need to show a strength to stand up to Trump which they have not really shown yet.' Macron and Merz will accompany Zelenskyy on Monday as embodiments of the two pillars of Europe, the French-German axis that is at the core of the EU. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, will be a reminder of Europe's combined importance as an economic juggernaut. Trump struck a EU-US trade deal with her just three weeks ago in Scotland, and hailed the relationship as 'the biggest trading partnership in the world'. Brett Bruen, a former White House director of global engagement, said the Europeans should focus on economics and use the White House meeting 'as a chance to remind Trump how small Russia's economy is vis-a-vis the EU and the UK and other western partners.' The principal role in Team Zelenskyy of Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, will be as a useful bridge: a European far-rightwinger who Trump counts as a friend but who also supports Ukrainian sovereignty. The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, represents an even smaller European state but he is on the team because he managed to establish an unexpectedly warm relationship with Trump. The Finn cultivated his access to the president by hastily polishing up his rusty golfing skills for an impromptu trip to Florida in March for a round with Trump, on the recommendation of the Republican senator Lindsey Graham. Stubb used the occasion to offer the perspective of Russia's closest European neighbour, urging Trump not to trust Vladimir Putin. Starmer combines national clout and personal rapport in some measure. Trump has gone out of his way to emphasise their good relations, despite Starmer's 'liberal' outlook, and the president arguably has an incentive not to sour relations ahead of a state visit to the UK next month, an extravaganza in which Trump sets high store. Mark Rutte also brings the influence of high office, as Nato secretary general, with a proven track record of corralling Trump with honeyed words, at one point appointing him the 'daddy' among world leaders, helping avoid any disastrous outbursts at the Nato summit in June. 'A lot of people have learned the lessons of Trump, in terms of how you handle him,' said Kim Darroch, who was the UK ambassador to Washington in Trump's first term. 'There will be a lot of flattery. It's tiresome but it's necessary: it gets you to first base. You tell him how well he's doing, how glad everyone is that he is leading the west to find a solution to the war. But then you get onto the substance.' The fact that all these leaders have cleared their diaries to fly to Washington at short notice is a measure of how alarmed they were by Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage. The Russian president, wanted by the international criminal court for war crimes in the wake of his unprovoked full invasion of Ukraine, was feted with a red carpet and a personal round of applause from Trump, who allowed him to speak first after the truncated abortive meeting and abruptly dropped his previous insistence on a ceasefire. Instead, the US president uncritically accepted Putin's preference to move straight to a comprehensive peace deal, putting the onus on Ukraine to make territorial concessions. One diplomatic observer likened the prospect of Monday's White House showdown in the shadow of Alaska to a football team coming out for a second half trailing 0-3 but with a raft of super-substitutes on the field. The first challenge will be staying together and sticking to the same talking points. 'Put up a united front and speak from one set of points,' advised Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to Nato. 'The goal is to get Trump to agree and side with them. But the message must be that their position is real, won't change, and if Trump doesn't agree they will pursue their path on their own.' 'Trump won't have the patience to listen to the same pitch a dozen times,' Darroch said. 'So for the initial round they probably need to select a couple of European speakers alongside Zelenskyy: perhaps Rutte as secretary general of Nato and Macron as the senior European national leader. 'My advice to Starmer would be to wait and see how the conversation goes,' Darroch added. 'If it goes badly off-track, or gets a bit spiky, he can intervene to pull it back on course, or calm it down, or just try to build some bridges. Because the risk is that if Trump thinks that the whole exercise is basically about telling him he's got it wrong, he could react badly or just close the discussion down.' On the way into the White House, Zelenskyy and his European backers can steel themselves with knowledge that not all is lost. The worst fear was that Trump would strike a deal with Putin in Alaska which would be presented as a fait accompli to Kyiv. That did not happen. Furthermore, they have potential allies inside the Trump administration. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, is a traditional Republican whose instincts towards Russia are hawkish, although he has a record of going along with the flow of the president's impulses. On Sunday, Rubio gave the arriving delegation some hope, insisting to NBC that a ceasefire is 'not off the table' and confirming that the US is interested in contributing to western security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, acknowledging 'it's one of their fundamental demands is that if this war were to end, they have to make sure this never happens again'. The arrival of so many European luminaries in Washington is a sign of panic, in part, but also of united resolve. Arguably the only way the delegation could be strengthened would be with the inclusion of a Norwegian. Last week, Trump is reported to have cold-called the Norwegian foreign minister (and former Nato secretary general) Jens Stoltenberg, catching him by surprise on his mobile while he was out on the street. The president is said to have pressed Stoltenberg on his obsession with winning a Nobel peace prize, an award decided by a Norwegian parliamentary-appointed committee. One of the cards Trump's visitors will have in their hands on Monday is a reminder that cosying up to Putin is unlikely to get him the Nobel he craves. 'Second-term Trump has his eye on his place in the history books,' Darroch said. 'This is a point which needs to be put across delicately, but history will be kind to him if he delivers a fair peace in Ukraine; less so if he presses for a capitulation.'
