Despite Trump's positivity, the meeting is far from guaranteed. Putin has repeatedly refused to meet with Zelenskyy during the conflict, having consistently sought to undermine the Ukrainian president's legitimacy. Russian officials rarely use Zelenskyy's name, preferring to refer to "the Kyiv regime."

After his highly criticized Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without reaching a ceasefire agreement in the war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump now says he thinks it would be “better” if Putin and Ukrainian President ...