Summary
Here’s a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has released a series of statements on X after his meeting with European leaders ahead of Monday’s peace talks with Donald Trump in the US. In his statements, Zelenskyy said: “Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land. Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral—Ukraine, the U.S., Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign this will happen, and if Russia refuses, new sanctions must follow.”
Ahead of Monday’s peace talks in the US, French president Emmanuel Macron said that in order to have a “lasting peace deal for Ukraine, Ukraine needs a strong army”. He added that European allies want “Ukraine’s territorial integrity to be respected” and that “Ukraine must be represented in any talks on Ukraine’s future.” Macron also said that “our goal for tomorrow’s talks is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies”.
European Union council president Antonio Costa added that he “welcomed the United States’ willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine”. Costa said: “Transatlantic unity is paramount at this moment to achieve a sustainable peace in Ukraine.”
Donald Trump has published a letter Melania Trump addressed to Vladimir Putin during his visit to Alaska on Friday. In the letter, the first lady urges the Russian president to “restore the melodic laughter” of children, saying: “In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone – you serve humanity itself. Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today.”
Steve Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, particularly the eastern Donetsk province. “We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as gamechanging,” Witkoff said.
European leaders who are set to join Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of solidarity at the White House on Monday include: German chancellor Friedrich Merz, British prime minister Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Finland’s president Alexander Stubb, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.
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Asked behind the scenes at June’s G7 summit if he could explain why Donald Trump seemed to like him so much, Keir Starmer admitted he did not really know. Whatever the reason, when it comes to Ukraine, the UK prime minister is once again hoping to exploit this somewhat curious relationship.
As soon as it was announced that a string of European leaders planned to join Volodymyr Zelenskyy to back the Ukrainian president in crucial talks with Trump at the White House on Monday, it was obvious Starmer would be joining them.
The idea of Britain being some sort of bridge between US and European interests is something of a longstanding UK diplomatic cliche, and not one that always necessarily carries much meaning.
But in the case of Ukraine, Starmer has very deliberately sought to position himself as a leader who can get along with Trump while consistently stressing to him Europe’s red lines over any peace plan, and trying to sweet talk the president into offering US security guarantees.
For the full analysis, click here:
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In a combative series of interviews on Sunday, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that “both sides are going to have to make concessions” for there to be a peaceful resolution to the war that erupted when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“You can’t have a peace agreement unless both sides make concessions – that’s a fact,” the Trump administration’s top diplomat said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “That’s true in virtually any negotiation. If not, it’s just called surrender. And neither side is going to surrender. So both sides are going to have to make concessions.”
Rubio said the recent talks in Alaska between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump toward ending the war had “made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement – but there remains some big areas of disagreement”.
“We’re still a long ways off,” Rubio added. “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We’re not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made and towards one.”
For the full story, click here:
Reporters from Associated Press have done a little round up of the reactions of Republican and Democrat senators to Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Among the Republicans:
Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, wrote on social media after the summit that “while the press conference offered few details about their meeting,” she was “cautiously optimistic about the signals that some level of progress was made.” She said it “was also encouraging to hear both presidents reference future meetings” but that Ukraine “must be part of any negotiated settlement and must freely agree to its terms.”
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close Trump ally, said he was “very proud” of the president for having the face-to-face meeting and was “cautiously optimistic” that the war might end “well before Christmas” if a trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin transpires.
Former vice-president Mike Pence commended his former boss for seeking peace. “I think he deserves credit as leader of the free world for not giving up on Ukraine,” he said on CNN’s State of the Union.
However, Democrat senators have been expressed alarm:
“President Trump appears to have been played yet again by Vladimir Putin,” said Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, ranking member of the Senate foreign relations committee. “The president rolled out a red carpet and warmly greeted a murderous dictator on American soil and reports indicate he got nothing concrete in return.” She added: “If President Trump won’t act, Congress must do so decisively by passing crushing sanctions when we return in the coming weeks.”
Connecticut senator Chris Murphy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Putin “got everything he wanted”, including a photo op with Trump. “He is intentionally murdering civilians, he’s kidnapping children, and now he got to stand next to the President of the United States — legitimized in the view of the world,” the Democrat said.
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While politicians have been discussing their future, people in Ukraine have been attending a rally outside the US embassy in Kyiv. Many were women, standing with children and highlighting the plight of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy faces a daunting trip to the White House – but this time he won’t be alone.
The Guardian’s Julian Borger writes:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make his second visit to the White House on Monday with the daunting task of reversing the damage done to Ukraine’s security prospects by Friday’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
Zelenskyy will not, however, be alone as he was on his first trip to the White House in February when he was ambushed and humiliated by Donald Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, who sought to bully him into capitulation to Moscow’s demands.
This time the Ukrainian leader comes to Washington flanked by a dream team of European leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who combine economic and military clout with proven rapport with Trump.
Their mission will be to try to use their individual and combined influence to coax the president out of the pro-Russian positions he adopted after just a couple of hours under Putin’s sway in the sub-Arctic on Friday.
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.
For the full analysis, click here:
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Zelenskyy: 'Ukraine's constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land'
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has released a series of statements on X after his meeting with European leaders ahead of Monday’s peace talks with Donald Trump in the US.
In his statements, Zelenskyy said:
We have to stop the killings. Putin has many demands but we do not know all of them. If there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. It is impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons …
We need real negotiations, which means they can start where the front line is now. The contact line is the best line for talking. Europeans support this, and we thank everyone. Russia is still unsuccessful in the Donetsk region, Putin has been unable to take it for 12 years …
Ukraine’s Constitution makes it impossible to give up or trade land. Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral—Ukraine, the U.S., Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign this will happen, and if Russia refuses, new sanctions must follow.
It’s important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for all of Europe. This is a significant change, but there are no details how it will work—what America’s role will be, what Europe’s role will be, what the EU can do. We need security to work in practice, like Article 5 of NATO.”
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A string of Ukrainian politicians and public figures condemned the idea of handing over unoccupied land to Russia for peace on Sunday, arguing that their country had not been defeated and should not be forced into a surrender.
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh and Artem Mazhulin report:
The hardening of the mood comes at the end of a weekend where there was first ridicule and disgust in Ukraine at the red carpet treatment of Vladimir Putin by Donald Trump at their summit in Alaska – followed by frustration as it appeared that Trump was siding with the Russian leader.
Trump reportedly told European leaders that he believed a peace deal could be negotiated if Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to give up the areas of the Donbas region that the Russian invaders have not been able to seize in more than three years of fighting.
Halyna Yanchenko, an independent member of Ukraine’s parliament, said demands that Ukraine “simply surrender new territories without a fight – just because Putin wants it – is absurd from the very start”.
The MP, an anti-corruption activist previously part of Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, said that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians would be affected by Putin’s proposal, initially favoured by Trump after Friday’s Alaska summit.
For the full story, click here:
Emmanuel Macron further said: “No country can accept the loss of territories unless it has security guarantees for its remaining territory.”
The French president added: “If we are weak today, we will pay a heavy price tomorrow … If Europe wants to be free and independent, we need to be feared and we need to be strong.”
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Emmanuel Macron: Goal for tomorrow's talks is to 'present united front' between Ukraine and European allies
Ahead of Monday’s peace talks in the US, French president Emmanuel Macron said that in order to have a “lasting peace deal for Ukraine, Ukraine needs a strong army”.
He added that European allies want “Ukraine’s territorial integrity to be respected” and that “Ukraine must be represented in any talks on Ukraine’s future.”
Macron also said that “our goal for tomorrow’s talks is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies.”
He went on to warn that “if we show weakness today in front of Russia, we are laying the ground for future conflict.”
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EU council president: 'If no ceasefire is agreed, the EU and US must increase pressure on Russia'
European Union council president Antonio Costa added that he “welcomed the United States’ willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine”.
Costa said: “Transatlantic unity is paramount at this moment to achieve a sustainable peace in Ukraine.”
He added: “As I underlined during today’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, if no ceasefire is agreed, the EU and the US must increase pressure on Russia.”
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Following the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting among European countries ahead of Monday’s peace talks in Washington DC, European leaders are releasing statements regarding Ukraine.
An European Union Commission spokesperson said that the “videoconference of Ukraine’s allies focused on key matters such as the need to stop the killing in Ukraine, the commitment to maintain full pressure against Russia via sanctions.”
The spokesperson added that the “leaders involved in the video conference of Ukraine’s allies reaffirmed their unity in supporting Ukraine towards a just and lasting peace.”
Melania Trump urges Putin to 'restore the melodic laughter' of children
Donald Trump has published a letter Melania Trump addressed to Vladimir Putin during his visit to Alaska on Friday.
In the letter, the first lady urges the Russian president to “restore the melodic laughter” of children, saying:
“Dear President Putin,
Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.
As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few.
Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all - so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.
A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity - an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.
Yet in today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them — a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future. Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.
In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself. Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today.
It is time.”
In response to whether the US accepted everything Vladimir Putin laid on the table during Friday’s Alaska summit, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday:
“The United States is not in a position to accept anything or reject anything, because ultimately, it’s up to the Ukrainians. They’re the ones that Russia has to make peace with… We have to make enough progress so that we can sit down President Zelensky and President Zelensky and President Putin in the same place, which is what President Zelensky has been asking for, and reach a final agreement that ends this war.
Now, there were some concepts and ideas discussed that we know the Ukrainians could be very supportive of in that meeting… We’re not going to negotiate this in the media. I understand that everybody wants to know what happened. But ultimately, there are things that were discussed as part of this meeting that are potentials for breakthroughs, that are potentials for progress.”
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, has said in a post on X that the Trump administration has swung from saying there would be severe consequences on Russia if it did not agree to a ceasefire to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, shutting down the option indefinitely in an interview with Meet the Press. Rubio said:
I don’t think new sanctions on Russia are going to force him to accept the ceasefire. They’re already under very severe sanctions …
The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to the table will be severely diminished. That moment may arrive.
But when it comes, what you’re basically signaling is ‘There is no opportunity for peace at this point. So just let’s put on more sanctions and allow more people to get bombed and more people to be killed’. And that’s what we’re trying to stop.
Pope Leo XIV has posted to X. History’s first American pope wrote 45 minutes ago:
Let us pray that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote peace may bear fruit, and that in negotiations the common good of peoples may always be placed first.
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The virtual meeting with Nato leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy started at about 14:30 BST. We will bring you the key lines from what is being discussed as soon as we have them.
It is being hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and includes leaders from Italy, the UK and Germany.
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Russia agreed to concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, Witkoff says
Steve Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, particularly the eastern Donetsk province.
“We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as gamechanging,” Witkoff said.
He told CNN:
The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions. There is an important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday.
As a reminder, Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded Ukraine withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for ending the war and in exchange would freeze the frontline in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
US envoy says Putin agreed to security protections for Ukraine as part of Trump summit
Special US envoy Steve Witkoff has also been speaking to the media. He said on Sunday that Vladimir Putin agreed at the Alaska summit with Donald Trump to allow the US and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling Nato’s collective defence mandate (article 5: an attack on one member is an attack on all) as part of an eventual deal to end the war.
Speaking with Jake Tapper, Witkoff told CNN’s State of the Union programme:
We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer article five like language to cover a security guarantee. So Putin has said that a red flag is Nato admission.
And so what we were discussing was assuming that that held, assuming that the Ukrainians could agree to that, and could live with that, and everything is going to be about what the Ukrainians can live with.
But assuming they could, we were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer article five, like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato, we sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer article five protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.
Top Trump envoy @SteveWitkoff tells @jaketapper that Putin agreed to allow "robust security guarantees" for Ukraine as part of a peace deal, describing them as “Article 5-like” protections. pic.twitter.com/6sOOby7PCd
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) August 17, 2025
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US may not be able to create scenario to end war in Ukraine, secretary of state says
Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who joined Donald Trump at his summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, has been speaking to CBS’ Face the Nation programme.
He said the US will keep trying to create a scenario to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but admitted that might not be possible, stressing that life in the US won’t be fundamentally altered if peace in Ukraine is not achieved.
“If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands … we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there,” Rubio said.
“There are things that were discussed as part of this meeting that are potentials for breakthroughs, that are potential for progress,” he said, adding that topics for discussion would include security guarantees for Ukraine.
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Donald Trump promises 'big progress' on Russia
Donald Trump has just posted a very brief update on Truth Social. He wrote: “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED! President DJT.”
A few minutes before this post, the US president wrote:
If I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the Deal, the Fake News, and their PARTNER, the Radical Left Democrats, would say I made a terrible mistake and a very bad deal. That’s why they are the FAKE NEWS! Also, they should talk about the 6 WARS, etc., I JUST STOPPED!!! MAGA.
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The final question comes from a Ukrainian journalist, who asks Zelenskyy what security guarantees he wants and if he is worried about a repeat of the chaotic scenes played out during his last visit to the White House in February.
Zelenskyy says that the financing of security guarantees can only be funded by Europe but there are other things Washington can help with, adding that he hopes the White House meeting tomorrow will be “very productive”.
Zelenskyy and von der Leyen then took two questions from the press.
The first journalist asks if they agree with Trump that there is “no need” for a ceasefire and instead “peace negotiations” should begin immediately.
Von der Leyon responds first by saying what is most important is to “stop the killing”, rather than the term that is used (whether it as a “ceasefire” or a “peace deal”).
She says it’s important to have a “trilateral meeting” between Ukraine, Russia and the US, adding that it is “very important” for “clear timelines to be kept”. Zelenskyy says he totally agrees with von der Leyen, adding that Kyiv needs the US on its side to guarantee a lasting peace.
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Territorial swaps not possible under Ukrainian constitution, Zelenskyy says
These are the main highlights from what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said:
It is important for Europe to remain as “united” as it was in February 2022 when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion, in order to “stop the killings”.
It is necessary to agree a ceasefire before working quickly on a “final deal”, something that will be discussed with Donald Trump in Washington tomorrow.
Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up territory or to trade land.
The “territorial issue” should only be discussed between the Ukraine and Russia (with the US as a mediator).
Zelenskyy says that “Putin has many demands but we do not know all of them”. He says it will take time to go through them, but that it is “impossible to do this under that pressure of weapons”.
Russia’s “strategic direction” is “anti-European” so we have to limit Russia’s “potential”, Zelesnkyy said.
There can be no division between Moldova and Ukraine.
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Borders cannot be changed by force, von der Leyen says
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, began speaking first. Here are the main takeaways of what she said:
The EU will support Ukraine for a “just” and “lasting” peace for as long as it takes.
Ukraine is a sovereign country and it must be able to uphold its territorial integrity.
There cannot be any limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces.
Ukraine must be a “steel porcupine” indigestible to ‘“potential invaders”.
The EU has been working hard to scale up and increase Europe’s defence capability, and Ukraine’s industrial defence base (particularly around drones).
The EU continues to support Ukraine’s path to its membership to the EU, which in itself is a type of security guarantee.
She hails Donald Trump’s willingness to offer Ukraine Nato-style security guarantees and says that borders cannot be changed by force. “These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone,” von der Leyen said. “These decisions must not be taken without Ukraine in the table.”
As long as the bloodshed in Ukraine continues, the EU will continue with economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Russia (the bloc’s 19th economic sanctions package is being prepared).
Updated
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen have started their press conference in Brussels.
Friedrich Merz, a key part of the “coalition of the willing” and a staunch ally of Ukraine, posted on X this morning, confirming he would join other European leaders to accompany Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the crucial White House talks on Monday.
The German chancellor said:
Tomorrow I will travel with President Zelenskyy and other European heads of state and government to Washington. We will exchange views with US President Trump on the status of peace efforts, security guarantees, territorial issues, and further support for Ukraine.
The talks are still officially between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but the European leaders have coordinated their presence as a show of support for Ukraine and will help the Ukrainian leader navigate what is a high-stakes and potentially contentious meeting on which Ukraine’s territorial future could hinge.
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The Ukrainian foreign ministry has posted a picture of numerous cities located in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region that it says have already been “reduced to ashes by the Russian army”.
In a post on X the ministry urged the US and Kyiv’s other western allies to pursue “strong, coordinated” actions that will deter future Russian aggression.
It wrote:
All these cities were once full of Ukrainians – children, families. Ukrainians whom Russian war criminals have either killed, captured, forcibly transferred, or driven from their homes under relentless attacks – now cynically calling a “brotherly nation”.
Having left nothing but ruins behind, Putin still seeks to seize and destroy more, to turn new cities into the same lifeless wasteland. Russia’s war is not just against Ukraine’s territory – it is against the very right of Ukrainians to exist.
All these cities are located in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the so-called #Donbas.
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) August 16, 2025
All these cities have been already reduced to ashes by the Russian army.
All these cities were once full of Ukrainians – children, families. Ukrainians whom Russian war criminals have… pic.twitter.com/VJ96DEZDUw
Vladimir Putin has reportedly told Donald Trump that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk – which make up the Donbas – he would halt further advances and freeze the frontline in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces occupy significant areas.
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen welcomed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the European Commission’s head office in Brussels on Sunday.
Von der Leyen and Zelenskyy are due to hold a joint news conference later in the day.
Zelensky has already arrived in Brussels, where he met with Ursula von der Leyen. Later, they will take part in the meeting of leaders of the “Coalition of the Willing.” pic.twitter.com/MChMVZnwvw
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) August 17, 2025
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Keir Starmer to join European leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in White House on Monday
Keir Starmer will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders for a meeting with US President Trump at the White House on Monday, Downing Street has said.
In a statement, Downing Street said:
This follows the prime minister commending President Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, reasserting his position that a path to peace cannot be decided without President Zelenskyy and co-chairing a meeting of the coalition of the willing this afternoon to discuss progress to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees in the event of any deal.
At the meeting that will take place at the White House tomorrow, the prime minister, with other European leaders, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue for as long as it takes.
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Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson will virtually attend Sunday’s meeting with the coalition of the willing before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington on Monday, a spokesperson from the prime minister’s office told Reuters.
Kristersson will however not fly to Washington with Zelenskyy alongside other European leaders on Monday, the spokesperson said.
Italian prime minister due to travel to Washington on Monday
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is also due to travel to Washington tomorrow, her office has said.
Meloni, who has been labelled as “Europe’s Trump whisperer” and has spent time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home, was the only European leader invited to his inauguration in January.
Trump has described the Italian prime minister, a supporter of Ukraine, as “a wonderful person”.
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German chancellor, French president and Finnish president to go to Washington
Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will also be travelling to Washington tomorrow for the Trump-Zelenskyy talks, according to the federal government.
The chancellor’s spokesperson has been quoted by BBC News as having said:
The trip will serve as an exchange of information with US President Donald Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Chancellor Merz will discuss the status of peace efforts with the heads of state and government and underscore Germany’s interest in a swift peace agreement in Ukraine.
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 the pressure of sanctions.
Speaking to the German public broadcaster ZDF yesterday after being briefed together with other European leaders by Trump on his talks with Putin, Merz said the US was ready to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine, without spelling out exactly what this would entail.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb will also go to Washington with Zelesnkyy on Monday.
In a statement, the French presidency office says the leaders will pursue “coordination 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.”
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The coalition of the willing video conference call is expected to be led by the UK and France and take place at about 14:00 BST.
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European leaders to join Zelenskyy at White House meeting, von der Leyen says
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has just confirmed in a post on X that she will be meeting Donald Trump along with other European leaders in the White House on Monday at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
She also said that she will welcome Zelenskyy in Brussels later today and together will participate in a meeting of European leaders part of the “coalition of the willing”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte will also go to Washington DC with Zelesnkyy tomorrow.
The coalition of the willing, set up by the UK and France as the Trump administration threatened to withdraw security support for Europe, is made up of more than 30 countries working together to support Ukraine.
Its aim is to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a deal being reached between Kyiv and Moscow, with several countries, including France and the UK, having pledged to send troops on the ground to enforce a potential agreement.
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Who might accompany Zelenskyy on his Washington trip?
European officials will decide this weekend whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be accompanied on the visit to Washington tomorrow.
They are keen to avoid the chaotic scenes played out in front of the world’s press in the White House in February, when Donald Trump got into a shouting match with the Ukrainian leader, telling him to make a deal with Russia “or we’re out” and warning that Zelenskyy was “gambling with world war three”.
Zelenskyy left the White House early after Trump gave him a dressing-down that followed an ambush led by vice-president JD Vance, a skeptic of US support for Ukraine.
Politico is reporting that, in order to prevent another potential flare up and to try to ensure greater European involvement in negotiations, Finnish President Alexander Stubb – and possibly Nato secretary general Mark Rutte – may accompany Zelenskyy for his Washington trip tomorrow.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen may also join, according to Bloomberg, but these plans are not finalised. All three senior European figures have a seemingly good relationship with the US president.
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Russia’s defence ministry said this morning that Russian forces had destroyed and intercepted 300 Ukrainian drones and struck storage sites for Sapsan operational-tactical missiles, Interfax news agency reported.
Russia’s defence ministry said Russian forces had gained better positions near the settlement of Zolotyi Kolodiaz in the Donetsk region, though pro-Ukrainian maps showed that Ukrainian forces had contained the Russian advance, Reuters reports.
The defence ministry said war planes, drones and missiles had been used to strike Ukrainian storage sites for Sapsan missiles across the country.
“Four guided aerial bombs and 300 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems,” the ministry was quoted as having said.
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Russia 'complicating' efforts to end to war, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is complicating efforts to end the war.
In a post on X, he wrote:
We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing. This complicates the situation.
If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater – peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades.
But together we are working for peace and security. Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war. Today, coordination with partners has been ongoing throughout the day …
We are preparing for Monday’s meeting with President Trump, and I am grateful for the invitation.
It is important that everyone agrees there needs to be a conversation at the level of leaders to clarify all the details and determine which steps are necessary and will work.
The Ukrainian military said on Saturday it had pushed Russian forces back by about 2km (1.2 miles) on part of the Sumy front in northern Ukraine.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which controls a little over 200 sq km in the region, according to Ukraine’s battlefield mapping project DeepState.
Updated
US President Donald Trump said after Friday’s meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that he wants to bypass a ceasefire and move straight to a permanent peace deal.
This is a major shift in policy. Before the summit, Trump demanded Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire or face heavy US sanctions on oil exports.
Ukrainian and European leaders fear that a straight-to-peace deal, skipping over a preliminary ceasefire, gives Moscow an upper hand in talks.
After calls with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump wrote on social media on Saturday that “it was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
With Russia and Ukraine far apart in their demands, it is not clear how easily that could be achieved.
We are likely to be issued with a joint statement from the leaders of the “coalition of the willing” on the call later – it is not clear if they will use the word ceasefire or adopt more vague language to align themselves more with the new American position.
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Trump reportedly to back ceding of Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of peace deal
Here is some more detail from the report from my colleagues Edward Helmore and Pjotr Sauer about Trump backing a plan to cede unoccupied Ukrainian territory to Russia to secure an end to the war, with Putin demanding Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for peace:
Although Luhansk is almost entirely under Russian control, Ukraine still holds key parts of Donetsk, including the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and heavily fortified positions whose defence has cost tens of thousands of lives.
Putin told Trump that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk, he would halt further advances and freeze the frontline in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces occupy significant areas.
Trump’s support for ceding Ukraine’s Donbas region (composed of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions), which is rich in mineral resources, including coal and iron ore, to Russia comes as he voiced support for moving straight to a peace deal and not via a ceasefire, which, Trump said in a social media post on Saturday, “often times do not hold up.”
US support for ceding the Donbas to Russia represents a breach with Ukraine and European allies that oppose such a deal.
As part of a deal, the US is ready to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said on Saturday. Trump has threatened economic penalties on countries that buy Russian oil if Moscow refuses a deal and flew US bombers over the Russian leader as he arrived in Alaska.
But Ukrainian and European leaders fear that a straight-to-peace deal, skipping over a preliminary ceasefire, gives Moscow an upper hand in talks.
European leaders from 'coalition of the willing' to hold conference call ahead of Zelenskyy's talks with Trump
Welcome back to our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
While Washington prepares to welcome Volodymyr Zelenskyy for crunch talks with Donald Trump on Monday, European leaders who make up the so-called “coalition of the willing”, a loose partnership of western countries pledging support for Ukraine, are set to hold a conference call on Sunday to try to protect a peace deal that does not reward Russia for its aggression.
The virtual call is being co-chaired by the UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
At the Alaska summit on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks told the Guardian.
Trump reportedly backed the plan to cede unoccupied Ukrainian territory to Russia to secure an end to the war, telling European leaders that he believed a peace deal could be negotiated if Zelenskyy agreed to give up the Donbas region (which is composed of Donetsk and Luhansk).
European leaders have repeatedly said that Zelenskyy, who has been sidelined in much of the US-Russian diplomacy to date, must play a greater role in future talks as a lasting peace cannot be achieved without his input.
In a statement released on Saturday after the Alaska talks between Trump and Putin ended without any breakthrough, Starmer said in a statement posted to X:
President Trump’s efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended.
While progress has been made, the next steps must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him.
Stay with us as we will be keeping you up to date with the latest political and military developments throughout the day.
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