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regular-article-logo Saturday, 16 August 2025

Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington on August 18 after US-Russia summit yields no ceasefire

Zelenskyy said he spoke to Trump one-on-one and then in a call with other European leaders; In total the conversations lasted an hour and a half

Our Web Desk, Agencies Published 16.08.25, 02:59 PM
Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy File picture

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will travel to Washington on Monday for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, following Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that ended without an agreement to halt the war in Ukraine.

“On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation,” Zelenskyy wrote on X after a phone call with Trump on Saturday.

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The Ukrainian leader described the conversation as “long and substantive,” saying it lasted more than 90 minutes. According to him, the first part was one-on-one with Trump, after which European and NATO officials joined the discussion.

Zelenskyy stressed the importance of broader international involvement. “It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America,” he said. “We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security.”

He has repeatedly called for a trilateral format involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine, arguing it is crucial to achieving a durable peace. “Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump, speaking after his meeting with Putin in Alaska, suggested Kyiv would need to shoulder significant responsibility for moving talks forward.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” he told Fox News, while noting that European countries would also play a role. Putin, meanwhile, claimed the two had reached an “understanding” on Ukraine, warning Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump spoke by phone with NATO leaders after his call with Zelenskyy.

European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta confirmed that Trump also held talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish President Karol Nawrocki, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

However, there was no immediate comment from European capitals, and Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian state television that a potential trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy “has not been touched upon yet.”

Meanwhile, Russian forces pressed ahead with attacks overnight, Ukraine’s Air Force reported, firing one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones, of which 61 were intercepted. Strikes targeted front-line areas in Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Chernihiv.

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