Zelensky says he's ready for Putin talks
Digest more
The Ukrainian president’s outfit during his visit to the White House Monday reflects a change in tactics since his disastrous meeting with President Trump earlier this year.
The Ukrainian leader seemed mostly upbeat about his latest White House appearance, describing his meeting with Trump as "warm". His optimism, however, appeared deliberate as he sought to avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office visit and convince his American hosts to embrace the European position on ending the war.
Just after noon, European leaders including Macron, Starmer, von der Leyen, Rutte, and Meloni began arriving one by one at the White House. According to the White House schedule, Trump will first meet with Zelensky at 1:15 p.m. before greeting the European leaders, followed by a multilateral meeting with all parties at 3:00 p.m.
President Donald Trump is holding hastily arranged talks Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a host of European leaders — a rarity at the White House — as he seeks to negotiate an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
You can watch live coverage of Ukrainian President Zelensky and several European heads of state visiting President Trump at the White House to follow up on his meeting Friday with Vladimir Putin. Leaders from Britain,
New negotiation, new look. When President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived at the White House on Monday to meet with President Trump, he had swapped the military-style clothing that has been his de facto uniform since the war with Russia began in 2022, for a more statesmanlike ensemble: black field jacket, black shirt and black slacks.
The White House, ahead of Monday's meeting, asked Zelensky to wear a traditional suit and tie, according to a European official and another person involved in planning. The request came through the office that handles White House protocol, though a spokeswoman declined to comment publicly.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined European and NATO leaders to thank Trump — a lot — six months after the White House accused him of being ungrateful.
It was a striking contrast to the meeting six months ago, when Trump, red-faced and angry, accused an agitated Zelensky of failing to show enough gratitude to the United States. The blowup was so heated that the Ukrainian delegation was sent from the White House without being allowed to eat their waiting lunch.
We don’t have any date,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters about a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Trump said he hopes to hold a trilateral meeting with himself and the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.