Trump says Zelensky can stop war with Russia ‘almost immediately' ahead of talks
The US president suggested Mr Zelensky would have to accept there was 'no getting back' Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, and Ukraine would not be allowed to join the Nato alliance.
Sir Keir and other European leaders will seek to persuade Mr Trump not to push for a settlement which rewards Vladimir Putin's aggression and to get US security guarantees for any military peacekeeping force from the so-called 'coalition of the willing'.
Those joining Sir Keir include France's Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Alexander Stubb, president of Finland.
Nato chief Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are also attending.
In a message on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said President Zelensky 'can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight'.
He said there would be 'no going into Nato by Ukraine' – keeping its neighbour out of the alliance and its mutual defence pact has been one of Russia's key aims.
But Sir Keir, along with other Nato leaders, has said Ukraine is on an 'irreversible path' to membership of the alliance.
Government minister Stephen Kinnock said the 'pathway for Ukraine to Nato' could not be dictated by any other country.
The health minister told Times Radio: 'Any decisions taken about Ukrainian territory must be taken with the agreement of the Ukrainian government and President Zelensky.
'The other is that the pathway for Ukraine to Nato and to security guarantees cannot be dictated to them by any other country, and the other is to send a very clear message that we the British people stand firmly shoulder-to-shoulder with the Ukrainian people as we showed when we opened our homes and our hearts to the Ukrainian refugees.'
pic.twitter.com/NIFG5GjBnf
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff has suggested that measures similar to Nato's Article 5 mutual defence provision could be offered by the US without Kyiv joining the alliance.
Mr Witkoff, who took part in the talks between Mr Trump and Russian president Mr Putin last week, said it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called it 'game-changing'.
'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,' Mr Witkoff told CNN.
Mr Zelensky said any peace deal must be lasting 'not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East – part of Donbas – and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack'.
He said: 'Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.'
I have already arrived in Washington, tomorrow I am meeting with President Trump. Tomorrow we are also speaking with European leaders. I am grateful to @POTUS for the invitation. We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting. Not…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 18, 2025
At the White House, Mr Zelensky is expecting to face calls from the US president to concede to full Russian control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two mineral-rich regions of Ukraine that are mostly occupied by Vladimir Putin's forces.
In exchange for these demands, the Russian president would reportedly withdraw his forces from other areas of Ukraine and accept the Nato-like guarantee designed to prevent him launching further incursions.
Ahead of their Oval Office encounter, the allies are likely to be mindful of the previous occasion Mr Zelensky visited Mr Trump in the White House.
February's public spat, which saw Vice President JD Vance accuse Mr Zelensky of not being thankful enough to the US, resulted in American aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
25 minutes ago
- Metro
Russian troops troll Zelensky by flying US flag on mission into Ukraine
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russian soldiers have been filmed taunting Ukraine over Donald Trump's perceived support for Vladimir Putin. Trump is meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart today at the White House, who has brought along European leaders as backup. Top of the agenda is ending Russia's grinding, three-year-long war against Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Trump left Volodymyr Zelensky off the guest list when he gave Putin a long-desired one-on-one meeting in Alaska on Friday, which ended with him backing the Russian leader's peace proposal. It's a plan to end the war that's not exactly what Kyiv – and Europe – are keen on: hand over chunks of Ukrainian land in the Donbas region to the Kremlin. But it seems that Putin's army had an inkling that the meeting would go in their leader's favour even days ago. Footage captured the moment Russian troops rode an American MM13 personnel carrier they captured from Ukrainian forces on August 12. The video, shared today on Telegram by the Kremlin-controlled broadcaster, Russia Today, showed the soldiers flying US and Russian flags. According to geolocation experts, the vehicle was driven from Verbovye to Malaya Tokmachka, a village of fewer than 200 people in Zaporizhzhia. Russia Today said the vehicle had been 'repaired and revived' and is now being used to 'carry out combat missions'. But the fact that the video, filmed by Russia's 70th Motor Rifle Division, was uploaded today wasn't lost on political commentators. Petr Andryushchenko, head of the Centre for the Study of the Occupation, said: 'The Russians have already declared the United States an ally and are storming Malaya Tokmachka in M113 armoured personnel carriers….with Russian and American flags. 'This is the logical conclusion to all of Trump's absurdity. And all of this is on the official propaganda channel of Russia Today. 'There are no words.' Pro-Ukrainian blogger Igor Sushko added: 'Russian fascists are now invading Ukraine while proudly displaying Russian and American flags. 'Maybe this ought to be a wake-up call for certain people.' Some military experts have noted that the vehicle is more similar in appearance to the Russian APC-MDM 'Rakushka'. The Pentagon has handed Kyiv more than 900 Vietnam War-era M113 vehicles as part of various aid packages, according to a US government fact sheet. Putin's peace proposal would see Ukraine cede unconquered territory to the Russian invaders in the Donbas, rather than try for a ceasefire, in exchange for vague security guarantees. Ditching a ceasefire had previously been something Trump was willing to punish Russia with economic sanctions if Russia did not do. Russia controls a large part of a region of the Donbas called Luhansk but has struggled for the better part of a decade to wrest control of its other half, Donetsk, from Ukraine. The proposal will be discussed today between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. More Trending Zelensky and Europe have long opposed carving up Ukrainian land, which would violate the Ukrainian constitution. Ukrainians don't either, with nearly eight in 10 being against transferring territory to Russia, according to a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. And it seems this is something Trump is all too aware of – on Sunday, he quickly painted Zelensky as an obstacle to the peace talks. 'President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,' he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: From elite Oligarchs to cringeworthy fashion – readers discuss the Alaska summit MORE: Everything we know so far about Trump and Zelensky's meeting today MORE: Keir Starmer to join Zelensky for high-stakes talks at White House
Metro
25 minutes ago
- Metro
From elite Oligarchs to cringeworthy fashion - readers discuss the Alaska summit
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments. It comes as no surprise that the overhyped Alaska meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin ended without any concrete peace proposals for the war in Ukraine (Metro, Mon). How could it when the only person who can end the conflict has no intention of doing so unless and until he achieves all of his objectives. Putin wants Ukraine back in his new version of the USSR, which would include the Baltic and Caucasian countries, while reducing the influence of Nato. The Russian president claims his actions are to counter a threat from the West. Of course he doesn't want western democracies liberating the Russian people from a dictatorship in which he and a privileged elite of oligarchs hold the power and wealth. Unfortunately, until Putin is removed one way or another, the crisis will never end. Trump's response should be to work with the EU and provide Ukraine with all the modern arms it can to repel the constant attacks on its civilians and infrastructure and push back the Russian offensive. Peter Fieldman, Paris Watching Putin shaking hands with Trump after that disastrous summit in Anchorage on Friday, I couldn't help but recall that picture of Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain shaking hands after their 1938 meeting in Munich, which was also a farce. Putin and Hitler left their meetings shaking their heads at the gullibility of Trump and Chamberlain, while the deluded Trump and Chamberlain left believing that they had achieved something. It didn't take long to reveal Chamberlain had been duped – and the world was embroiled in World War II. Putin is not interested in peace with Ukraine – he wants Ukraine to surrender so he can advance his megalomaniacal dream of regaining all the former territories of the former USSR. This is borne out by the fact that Putin's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, arrived in Anchorage wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the Cyrillic letters 'CCCP', which translates to 'USSR'. If that wasn't giving the middle finger to Trump, I can't think of what would be! Like everything in which the US president is involved, this weekend's summit has been nothing less than a load of hoo-ha and hot air. Bob Readman, Sevenoaks I rarely agreed with former US president Ronald Reagan but he was spot on when he called the Soviet Union the 'evil empire'. Now, 40-odd years later, we see Putin attempting to rebuild this evil empire through the invasion of Ukraine and extra-judicial killings of any opponents or dissidents. And who do we have in the White House to counter this threat? Only a reality TV star and golf course peddler who is being played like a fiddle by the Russian president! Robert Boston, Kent For Ukraine and Nato's sake, let's hope Trump's mystery dialogue with Putin at the Alaskan summit was better judged than his attire. Trump's necktie – a garment traditionally associated with power and authority, was bright red, which is a colour that was not adopted by the US Republican party until 2000, but has been associated with Sovietism since Lenin's Russian Revolution in 1917. The wider tail of Trump's tie should have ended at the top of his belt but it hung much lower. Putin's maroon necktie was more subtle and avoided similarity with the Republican colour. His suit jacket was correctly worn with the top button fastened, thus concealing the tail of his tie. By comparison with Putin's immaculate appearance, Trump's unfastened jacket and overly long tie flapping around his crotch on a gusty runway looked cringeworthy . Robert Hughes, London Fred (MetroTalk, Fri) has a point regarding 'wasteful' disposable nappies being buried as landfill – however, a significant number of local authorities utilise waste incineration to manage waste rather than send it to landfill. In England, the number of incinerators has increased, with 52 operational in the past five years and more planned or under construction. Many of these incinerators are designed to recover energy from burning waste, either as electricity or for heat generation. Ant, Manchester I agree with Adrian (MetroTalk, Fri) that nuclear power produces waste our descendants will have to deal with. More Trending And while we can't all buy e-cars or have wind turbines on our homes, we can all work in whatever way we can to help save our one and only planet. Fly less, cover up your drive with plants or maybe even plant a tree, eat less ultra-processed foods and more whole foods – food that isn't full of things our nans had never heard of… We can't rely on our government or leaders in other countries – we need to start ourselves. Chris Silvers, London MORE: Zelensky wears suit but no tie to meet Trump who tells Ukrainians 'we love them' MORE: Missed the catwalk show? Don't fret, here's what we're buying now Topshop is back MORE: Man admits murdering Leanne Williams found dead at her home in Swansea
South Wales Guardian
25 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Starmer says allies must ‘get this right' ahead of crunch Ukraine talks
The Prime Minister has arrived at the White House where he and other European leaders will seek to persuade the US president not to push for a settlement which rewards Vladimir Putin's aggression. They will also try to secure US security guarantees for any military peacekeeping force from the so-called 'coalition of the willing'. The meeting will come after Donald Trump suggested the Ukrainian president would have to accept there was 'no getting back' Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, and that Ukraine would not be allowed to join the Nato alliance. I'm on my way to Washington D.C. to meet @POTUS, @ZelenskyyUa and other leaders. Here's why: — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 18, 2025 In a video posted on X, Sir Keir said of the conflict: 'Everybody wants it to end, not least the Ukrainians. 'But we've got to get this right. We've got to make sure there is peace, that it is is lasting peace and that it is fair and that it is just. 'That's why I'm travelling to Washington with other European leaders to discuss this face to face with President Trump and President Zelensky, because it's in everyone's interests, it's in the UK's interests that we get this right.' The Prime Minister will be joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italy's leader Giorgia Meloni and Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland. Nato chief Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are also attending. In a message on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said President Zelensky 'can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight'. He said there would be 'no going into Nato by Ukraine' – keeping its neighbour out of the alliance and its mutual defence pact has been one of Russia's key aims. But Sir Keir, along with other Nato leaders, has said Ukraine is on an 'irreversible path' to membership of the security alliance. 'Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to the EU or Nato,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said on Monday. Asked if Mr Trump could have a veto, the spokesman repeated that 'our position on Ukraine and Nato hasn't changed' and that Ukraine is on 'irreversible path' to membership. He said No 10 is working 'hand in glove' with Mr Trump on Ukraine, when asked if Sir Keir was confident the US leader would not try to veto membership. The security guarantees the US has signalled it is willing to provide will be an 'important aspect of the discussions' at the White House today, he said. Mr Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff has suggested that measures similar to Nato's Article 5 mutual defence provision could be offered by the US without Kyiv joining the alliance. This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike. They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war. We will have a discussion with President Trump about key issues. Along with Ukraine, the leaders of the United Kingdom,… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 18, 2025 Mr Witkoff, who took part in the talks between Mr Trump and Russian president Mr Putin last week, said it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called it 'game-changing'. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,' Mr Witkoff told CNN. Mr Zelensky said any peace deal must be lasting 'not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East – part of Donbas – and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack'. He said: 'Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.' Mr Trump has appeared to drop his calls for a ceasefire after a summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin has long refused to agree to a ceasefire as a precondition for talks to end the war, prompting fears that Russia could continue gaining ground in Ukraine as negotiations take place. No 10 appeared to suggest that Sir Keir could back a peace deal without a ceasefire. 'We want to see an end to the killing. If you can bring about an end to the killing and bring about a sustained peace in one go, then all the better,' his spokesman said. But Ukraine must determine whether it wants to cede land to secure a deal, he said, stressing that 'international borders must not be changed by force'. At the White House, Mr Zelensky is expecting to face calls from the US president to concede to full Russian control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two mineral-rich regions of Ukraine that are mostly occupied by Vladimir Putin's forces. Our main goal is a reliable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. And it is important that the momentum of all our meetings lead to precisely this result. We understand that we shouldn't expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 18, 2025 In exchange for these demands, the Russian president would reportedly withdraw his forces from other areas of Ukraine and accept the Nato-like guarantee designed to prevent him launching further incursions. Ahead of their Washington encounter, the allies are likely to be mindful of the previous occasion Mr Zelensky visited Mr Trump in the White House. February's public spat, which saw US vice-president JD Vance accuse Mr Zelensky of not being thankful enough to the US, resulted in American aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted. Mr Trump will again host Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office before a separate meeting with the European leaders in the White House's East Room. Russia continued to carry out 'demonstrative and cynical' strikes ahead of the meeting, the Ukrainian leader said. Mr Zelensky posted a video on X showing him embracing Sir Keir and several other European leaders, and wrote that he had spent time with them on Monday in the US, where they 'coordinated' their positions. 'We understand that we shouldn't expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest,' Mr Zelensky said. 'That is why pressure must work, and it must be joint pressure – from the United States and Europe, and from everyone in the world who respects the right to life and the international order. 'We must stop the killings, and I thank our partners who are working toward this and ultimately toward a reliable and dignified peace.'
