Trump says Zelenskyy can end Russia war 'almost immediately' before White House meet

[ad_1] LONDON -- President Donald Trump on Sunday teased what he mentioned can be a "huge day" as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a number of European leaders ready for a White Home assembly that Trump mentioned can finish Russia's invasion of Ukraine "virtually instantly."

Monday's Washington, D.C., summit follows Trump's assembly with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Since that assembly, Trump seems to have dropped his demand for Russia to comply with a right away ceasefire and is now pressuring Kyiv to simply accept territorial concessions to safe a peace deal.

On Sunday, Trump explicitly mentioned Ukraine won't regain Crimea -- occupied by Russia in 2014. The president additionally repeated that Ukraine won't be allowed to hitch NATO, although White Home particular envoy Steve Witkoff and Zelenskyy have hinted at various safety ensures involving the U.S.

"President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can finish the battle with Russia virtually instantly, if he desires to, or he can proceed to combat," Trump wrote on social media on Sunday.

The president has beforehand incorrectly framed Ukraine because the initiator of the battle, which started with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. That invasion adopted Moscow's cross-border aggression in 2014, which noticed Russia seize Crimea and components of the japanese Donbas area.

"Huge day on the White Home tomorrow," Trump added. "I've by no means had so many European leaders at one time. It is my nice honor to host them!!!"

President Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the White Home in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2025.

Ben Curtis/AP

"NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE," Trump added. "Some issues by no means change!!!"

Trump is predicted to greet Zelenskyy exterior the West Wing at 1 p.m. ET, in accordance with a schedule revealed by the White Home, after which they'll maintain a bilateral assembly. The president is scheduled to take photographs with European leaders at round 2:30 p.m. ET and maintain a multilateral assembly with them at 3 p.m.

Vice President JD Vance may also attend the Trump-Zelenskyy assembly, a supply aware of the plans confirmed to ABC Information. Vance was a part of the dramatic Oval Workplace assembly in February throughout which the vp publicly berated Zelenskyy over his alleged ingratitude for U.S. wartime help.

Zelenskyy mentioned in a put up to social media that he had arrived in Washington on Sunday evening, expressing his gratitude to Trump for internet hosting the deliberate assembly. "All of us share a powerful need to finish this battle shortly and reliably," Zelenskyy wrote.

"And peace should be lasting," he added, noting Moscow's 2014 aggression plus the failure of the worldwide neighborhood to implement the 1994 Budapest Memorandum -- which was additionally signed by Russia -- that supplied Ukraine "safety assurances" in trade for Kyiv surrendering its Chilly Conflict-era nuclear arsenal.

"Ukrainians are combating for his or her land, for his or her independence," Zelenskyy wrote. "Russia should finish this battle, which it itself began. And I hope that our joint energy with America, with our European buddies, will pressure Russia into an actual peace."

Friday's summit in Alaska ended with Russia demanding that Ukraine cede the whole thing of its contested and fortified japanese Donetsk area in trade for an finish to the combating, two sources instructed ABC Information.

Trump then challenged Kyiv to "make the deal" and lavished reward on Putin. "Look, Russia is a really huge energy, they usually're not," Trump instructed Fox Information after the assembly. Putin, he added, is a "robust man" and "robust as hell."

A number of European leaders will accompany Zelenskyy on the White Home assembly. European leaders have backed Zelenskyy and Ukraine's positions throughout the Trump administration's strain marketing campaign on Kyiv.

These confirmed as attending are European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Forward of final week's summit in Alaska, European leaders echoed Zelenskyy's place {that a} ceasefire should precede peace negotiations, that safety ensures for Kyiv should be put in place and that solely Ukraine could make the ultimate determination on any territorial concessions.

Smoke rises from broken buildings on the web site of the Russian drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on this handout image launched on Aug. 18, 2025.

State Emergency Service Of Ukrai/by way of Reuters

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron instructed reporters that he and his fellow European leaders might be touring to Washington each to help Zelenskyy and "to defend European pursuits" at a "very severe" second for the continent's safety.

"If we're weak at the moment with Russia, we put together the wars of tomorrow," Macron mentioned, including that Moscow had "by no means" revered previous "guarantees of non-aggression."

The character of Western safety ensures for Ukraine might be a key subject for dialogue, Macron mentioned, explaining to journalists a two-pronged method by which Ukraine's navy can be bolstered and a Western "reassurance pressure" can be deployed to Ukraine to behave as a deterrent in opposition to renewed Russian assaults.

Any concessions will spark intense debate inside Ukraine. The nation's structure dictates that any modifications to the nationwide borders should be authorized by an all-Ukraine referendum.

Kyiv's ambitions to hitch each NATO and the European Union are additionally enshrined within the structure, that means it could must be amended for Ukraine to simply accept exclusion from both bloc.

"Territorial concessions are unattainable," Oleksandr Mrezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and chair of the physique's international affairs committee, instructed ABC Information. "Below the current circumstances, we want a ceasefire and safety ensures to stop Putin from violating the ceasefire."

"For my part, Putin's thought a couple of 'peace treaty' as a substitute of a ceasefire is extraordinarily harmful and unacceptable for each Ukraine and the U.S.," he added.

"That the U.S. gives to be engaged in safety ensures is nice information for us, however we do not know but what will probably be in follow," Merezhko mentioned. "I personally proceed to imagine that the best choice for all -- Ukraine, the U.S. and the EU -- is NATO membership for Ukraine."

"Putin is afraid of just one factor -- NATO," Merezhko added. "That is why it is essentially the most dependable and efficient safety assure for us."

In the meantime, each Russia and Ukraine continued long-range assaults in a single day into Monday.

Ukraine's air pressure mentioned Russia launched 140 drones and 4 missiles within the nation, of which 88 drones had been shot down or suppressed. Missile and drone impacts had been reported throughout 25 areas in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Kyiv areas, the air pressure mentioned.

Not less than seven individuals, together with a baby, had been killed when a Russian drone impacted an house complicated in Kharkiv, native officers mentioned.

Zaporizhzhia Gov. Ivan Fedorov mentioned in a put up to Telegram that at the very least three individuals had been killed and at the very least 23 individuals injured by missile strikes within the southern area.