European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he travels to Washington, D.C., on Monday for a high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Sunday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb all confirmed their attendance. Their joint presence underscores Europe’s determination to present a united front in support of Ukraine as Russia’s war drags on.
Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy met with von der Leyen at the European Commission in Brussels to set priorities for the White House talks, focusing on long-term military aid, Ukraine’s ambitions to join the EU, and bolstering transatlantic solidarity in the face of Russian aggression.
At a joint press conference, von der Leyen said she was glad to be joining Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington on Monday.
‘We will continue to support you for as long as it takes,’ she said, adding that the EU backs a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States.
She warned that the EU will move forward next month with its 19th sanctions package against Russia if the Kremlin refuses to halt its war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he hopes the upcoming meeting with Trump ‘will be productive’ and not a repeat of the shouting match that took place in the Oval Office during his February visit.
Zelenskyy’s meeting at the White House comes on the heels of Trump’s summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday, where Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire and urged a final peace deal.
After meeting with Putin, Trump said the Russian leader was willing to end the war in exchange for key Ukrainian territory concessions. Trump said Kyiv should take the deal with Moscow because ‘Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.’
Zelenskyy, alongside European leaders, consistently rejects proposals to surrender any Ukrainian land to Russia.
‘Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral Ukraine, United States, Russia,’ Zelenskyy told reporters at the European Commission on Sunday. ‘So far, Russia has given no sign that the trilateral will happen,’ he added.
