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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy brings Europe's top leaders with him to meet Trump on ending Russia's war
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine's future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European leaders gather for talks at the White House aimed at showing U.S. President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European leaders were left out of Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, and they want to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. Many arrived at the White House with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine's interests — a rare show of diplomatic force. By coming as a group, they hope to avoid debacles like Zelenskyy's February meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump chastised him for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. military aid. Trump and Zelenskyy were due to meet in the Oval Office before European leaders join them in the East Room for talks. The meetings are also a test of America's relationship with its closest allies after the European Union and United Kingdom accepted Trump's tariff hikes partly because they wanted his support on Ukraine. 'We understand that we shouldn't expect Putin to voluntarily abandon aggression and new attempts at conquest,' Zelenskyy said in an X posting as European leaders arrived at the White House. '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.' Ahead of the meeting, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions and suggested that Ukraine could not regain Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, setting off an armed conflict that led to its broader 2022 invasion. "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," Trump wrote Sunday night on social media. 'Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!' Zelenskyy appeared to respond with his own post late Sunday, saying, 'We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably.' He said that 'peace must be lasting,' not as it was after Russia seized Crimea and part of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine eight years ago, and 'Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack.' Trump's sitdown in Alaska with Putin yielded the possible contours for stopping the war in Ukraine, though it was unclear whether the terms discussed would ultimately be acceptable to Zelenskyy or Putin. Zelenskyy said in a social media post he met with Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, on Monday ahead of his scheduled talks with Trump to discuss the battlefield situation and the shared 'strong diplomatic capabilities' of the U.S., Ukraine and Europe. European heavyweights in Washington European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte arrived at the White House shortly after noon, ahead of Zelenskyy's arrival. On the table for discussion are possible NATO-like security guarantees that Ukraine would need for any peace with Russia to be durable. Putin opposes Ukraine joining NATO outright, yet Trump's team claims the Russian leader is open to allies agreeing to defend Ukraine if it comes under attack. 'Clearly there are no easy solutions when talking about ending a war and building peace,' Meloni told reporters in Washington ahead of the meeting. 'We have to explore all possible solutions to guarantee peace, to guarantee justice, and to guarantee security for our countries.' The European leaders are aiming to keep the focus during the White House talks on finding a sustainable peace and believe forging a temporary ceasefire is not off the table, according to a European official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the leaders are also looking to keep pressure on Russia to end the fighting and want to get more concrete assurances from the U.S. about security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any deal. Trump briefed Zelenskyy and European allies shortly after the Putin meeting. Details from the discussions emerged in a scattershot way that seemed to rankle the U.S. president, who had chosen not to outline any terms when appearing afterward with Putin. Ahead of Monday's White House meetings, Trump took to social media to say that even if Russia said, 'We give up, we concede, we surrender" the news media and Democrats 'would say that this was a bad and humiliating day for Donald J. Trump.' He separately lashed out at the Wall Street Journal and other outlets 'who truly don't have a clue, tell me everything that I am doing wrong on the Russia/Ukraine MESS.' Following the Alaska summit, Trump declared that a ceasefire was not necessary for peace talks to proceed, a sudden shift to a position favored by Putin. 'A very big move' European officials confirmed that Trump told them Putin is still seeking control of the entire Donbas region, even though Ukraine controls a meaningful share of it. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the U.S. and its allies could offer Ukraine a NATO-like commitment to defend the country if it came under attack as the possible security guarantee, with details to be worked out. Monday's meeting will likely be very tough for Zelenskyy, an official close to the ongoing talks said. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to speak openly about thinking within Ukraine and between allies. Zelenskyy needs to prevent a scenario in which he gets blamed for blocking peace talks by rejecting Putin's maximalist demand on the Donbas, the official said. It is a demand Zelenskyy has said many times he will never accept because it is unconstitutional and could create a launching pad for future Russian attacks. If confronted with pressure to accept Putin's demands, Zelenskyy would likely have to revert to a skill he has demonstrated time and again: diplomatic tact. The Ukrainian leadership is seeking a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump and Putin to discuss sensitive matters, including territorial issues. Trump's ambition to end the war After enduring a public tirade by Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February, Zelenskyy worked to repair relations with the U.S. Constant diplomatic communication and a 15-minute meeting at the Vatican in April on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral helped turn the tide. Trump appeared at the time to be swayed by Zelenskyy's conditions for peace. But Trump says he cares primarily about ending the war, an ambition that led him after his meeting with Putin to discard the need for a ceasefire. European allies also have worked with Trump, reaching a deal in July for NATO allies to buy weapons from the U.S. for Ukraine. Russian forces continued to pound Ukraine with missiles and drones. A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, killed seven civilians late Sunday. Putin spoke with the leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa Monday to discuss his meeting with Trump in Alaska, the Kremlin said. He also spoke with leaders in Central Asia and the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, it said. ___ Kullab reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Washington, John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, Illia Novikov in Kyiv and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia and Nicole Winfield in Rome, contributed. Josh Boak And Samya Kullab, The Associated Press
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Zelenskyy's White House re-do
Hello!Rebecca Morin Erin is forecast to steer clearof the mainland United States. I'm thinking of all those who are affected in the Caribbean, such as those in Puerto Rico. Zelenskyy back at the White House Now, it's Ukraine's turn. President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon is meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a potential peace deal with Russia, just days after Trump held an hourslong meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Before the Washington meetings, Trump railed at critics of his recent summit with Putin, where he shifted his position on a Ukraine ceasefire to align with that of the Russian president. He also put the onus on Zelenskyy to end Russia's assault on his country and ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine. Follow the latest updates from Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy. Don't forget about Europe: Trump is also set to meet with European leaders, who are rallying behind Zelenskyy and hope to move Trump away from Putin's conditions for a peace deal. European leaders also participated Sunday in an emergency virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, the group of countries that have offered to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after the war. See which European leaders will meet with Trump. Trump-Putin's meeting: The red carpets were rolled out. The two leaders shook hands. A roughly three-hour long meeting was had. And still, no peace deal. Trump and Putin held a roughly three hour long summit in Alaska, where the two did not come to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. Key takeaways from the Trump-Putin summit. Documents left behind: Watch where you print. Government documents with details about meeting schedules and seating charts, as well as an extravagant menu and reminder to pronounce Putin's name "POO-tihn," were accidentally left in a hotel printer in Alaska amid Trump's meeting with the Russian leader. The documents with State Department markings, reported by NPR, were discovered in the printer in an Anchorage hotel around 9 a.m., hours before Trump's summit with Putin at a nearby military base. See what the documents said. A politics pit stop No more mail-in voting? Trump on Monday said he would sign an executive order to abolish mail-in voting, a move he said Putin supported. Mailing ballots is a popular option for voters to avoid waiting in line at polling places on Election Day. Election-security officials say voting has never been more secure and that the president has no role overseeing elections. But Trump has long railed against mail-in voting as vulnerable to fraud – despite election experts, including those in his first administration, who said mail-in voting is secure. What to know about Trump's plan. Texas standoff over Texas, we're heading home. Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives returned to Austin Monday morning after leaving the state two weeks ago in protest of a Republican plan to re-draw congressional maps to help the party gain seats in 2026. The protest temporarily blocked House Republicans from having a quorum to move the redistricting plan forward and drew national attention to Trump's effort to avoid losing the Republican majority in Congress next year. Republicans adjourned its first special session in the state House on Thursday. Democrats refused to return to the state until after that first special session. California's plans to redraw its state congressional maps also prompted Texas Democrats' return. Got a burning question, or comment, for On Politics?You can submit them here or send me an email atrdmorin@
The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
Schumer: Trump attack on mail-in voting ‘not based in fact or reality'
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday criticized President Trump's broadside against mail-in voting, saying that right-wing claims of widespread voter fraud are inaccurate and 'not based in fact or reality.' Trump earlier in the day announced that he plans to 'lead a movement' to end the use of mail-in ballots in elections. The ballots were used more widely in the 2020 presidential contest due to COVID-19. Trump lost that race to former President Biden, which he has repeatedly and unfoundedly claimed was the result of a rigged election. Schumer said his party will do everything possible to stand in the way of blocking mail-in voting in the coming years. 'Two facts: Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and vote by mail is safe, secure, and reliable,' Schumer said in a statement. 'Let's be clear — this is not based in fact or reality, but it is yet another way for Trump to silence Americans from using their voice in the democratic process and implement Jim Crow laws across America.' 'Senate Democrats will make sure that any and every measure that would make it even more difficult for Americans to vote will be dead on arrival in the Senate and will continue to fight to protect our democracy,' the Democratic leader added. Trump made his remarks in a lengthy Monday morning TruthSocial post, which kept up his drumbeat against mail-in ballots. 'I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we're at it, Highly 'Inaccurate,' Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES, which cost Ten Times more than accurate and sophisticated Watermark Paper, which is faster, and leaves NO DOUBT, at the end of the evening, as to who WON, and who LOST, the Election,' Trump wrote in his post. 'WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT, WHICH WILL BE STRONGLY OPPOSED BY THE DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY CHEAT AT LEVELS NEVER SEEN BEFORE, by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.' 'THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!' he added later on. Trump, however, does not have the power to unilaterally change voting laws. Those must be changed at the state level.
