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.
French president Emmanuel Macron, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and Nato chief Mark Rutte have also confirmed their attendance.
Downing Street would not comment on whether Sir Keir Starmer plans to travel to Washington to join other European leaders on Monday.
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.
The call will be hosted by Prime Minister Sir Keir, France’s Mr Macron and Germany’s Mr Merz.
This afternoon, I will welcome @ZelenskyyUa in Brussels.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 17, 2025
Together, we will participate in the Coalition of Willing VTC.
At the request of President Zelenskyy, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders in the White House tomorrow.
The show of unity by European leaders comes as Mr Trump appears poised to urge the Ukrainian leader to agree to a Russian land grab of his country’s territory, according to reports.
Several news outlets have reported Russian president Vladimir Putin has demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war.
In exchange, he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops, multiple reports said, attributing sources familiar with Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s negotiations in Alaska on Friday.
Mr Trump is said to be inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it when they meet in the Oval Office.
The European leaders may also fear a repeat of Mr Zelensky’s last visit to the White House at the end of February.
The tumultuous spat resulted in a souring of relations between the US and Ukraine, including a temporary cut off of American aid for the war effort.
Mr Trump appeared to change his position on how to end the war in Ukraine following his meeting with the Russian president on Friday.
Following the Alaska summit, the American leader suggested he wants to move straight to a full peace deal, rather than negotiating a ceasefire first.
The shift appears to echo the Russians’ refusal to agree to ceasefire before engaging in peace talks.
Writing on social media on Sunday morning, the Ukrainian leader railed against Russia’s refusal to lay down arms temporarily before agreeing to end the war.
Thank you for the support! All the points mentioned are important to achieve a truly sustainable and reliable peace. 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… pic.twitter.com/bkTXwjMSnX
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025
Mr Zelensky said: “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.”
He added: “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 neighbours for decades.
“But together we are working for peace and security. Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war.”
Mr Zelensky is expected to attend Sunday afternoon’s video call with leaders from the coalition of the willing, which is scheduled to take place at 2pm UK time.
