Zelensky says he is ready to meet Putin after Trump calls Russian leader…CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky sounded cautiously optimistic – a far cry from the heated Oval Office battle we saw last time around.
There were a few concrete details on next steps – particularly Trump’s comment that he would speak to Vladimir Putin today, and that the US president believes a future trilateral meeting is possible, even if we don’t know when or where that could take place.
More notable, however, are the details we didn’t hear.
For one, we still don’t have any firm indication of what any future security guarantees from the US – a key part of any future peace – will actually look like. Trump seemed to suggest that the US could provide military support, perhaps even troops, for that effort, but did not provide any clarity.
We also did not hear much about each side’s expectations for what the map of Ukraine will look like after the fighting is over.
Trump has said, repeatedly and clearly, that he does not believe Ukraine can recover some of the territory it has lost, such as Crimea. Zelensky, on the other hand, has said that Ukraine’s constitution won’t allow him to give away its land.
It’s still unclear how those two positions can be reconciled.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Today’s meeting between Trump and Zelensky has a very different tone than the infamous February dust-up in the Oval Office.
Trump, for his part, seems at least cautiously optimistic that today’s meeting will bring the warring parties closer to peace – starting with a potential trilateral meeting between the US, Ukraine and Russia.
Notably, Trump also said that he “can never say” that the US will walk away from negotiations. In the past, there had been some suggestion that the Trump administration could turn away – essentially give up – if there is no progress.
What we don’t know, so far, is what any peace looks like. Trump declined to provide any details on what US security guarantees for Ukraine could look like – a crucial and lingering question for Ukraine and its European allies.
It seems as if some of those details will be discussed behind closed doors, and in the meeting later today with European allies.
For now, we’ve little idea about what the outcome of today will be – although many Ukrainian observers will be heartened to hear Trump say that he hopes for a “lasting peace”.
Keir Starmer arrives in black car
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is arriving now.
He smiles as he leaves his vehicle and is greeted and led into the White House.
We’re seeing new pictures from a Russian strike on a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, south-eastern Ukraine, earlier today.
At least three people were killed and 23 others injured, according Zaporizhzhia regional head Ivan Fedorov.
The remains of a street after a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine.
EPA
The remains of a street after a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine.
EPA
Katy Watson
Reporting from Kyiv
In Kyiv’s Independence Square – or Maidan – there’s a makeshift memorial to those who’ve been killed since Russia’s full invasion began in 2022. It’s a sea of blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, as well as photos of those who’ve lost their lives in the fighting.
Staring at two photos side-by-side, 65-year-old Natalia explains that her daughter Valentyna and boyfriend Danylo were killed last November on the frontline. Both were 29.
“On the very first day of the war, [my daughter] said if not us, then who? I want to live in a free Ukraine,” Natalia tells me.
Valentyna fought in several parts of Ukraine – and spent a considerable time in the Donetsk region, which is part of the Donbas. That’s the area that President Zelensky may be asked to give up to Russia in return for freezing other parts of the frontline.
“She said that she had never seen such a beautiful land as Donbas,” Natalia says. “She fell in love with it, you know?
Valentyna died in the north eastern Kharkiv region.
Natalia standing in Maidan Square, there are many flags, pictures of and tributes to killed Ukrainian soldiers behind her
Natalia’s family is from Sumy, also in the north east of Ukraine, close to the Russian border.
“They’re erasing everything there, you know?” she says. “It’s terrible what’s being done there.”
On last week’s Alaska summit between Presidents Trump and Putin, Natalia was frank. “They laid out a red carpet [for the Russian president],” she tells me. “It makes a mockery of Ukraine.”
And of today’s meeting at the White House, Natalia has little hope.
“I’m afraid they might expose Volodymyr Zelensky again, like last time,” she says, referring to the disastrous meeting he had with Donald Trump in February. “It was a mess for the president, he didn’t deserve it, the way he was treated.”
The White House has released the official timetable for the day ahead.
Here are the key timings:
At midday EST (17:00 BST) the European leaders will arrive at the White House.
An hour later, President Zelensky will be greeted by Trump before heading into a bilateral meeting at 13:15 EST (18:15 BST).
Another hour on, at 14:15 EST (19:15 BST), Trump will greet the European leaders ahead of a photo call with the group.
Then at 15:00 EST (20:00 BST) the multilateral meeting between all of the leaders and President Trump will kick off.
There’s no official schedule for when the meeting might wrap up.
As we’ve just reported, Russia has offered to make some concessions on territory, according to Trump envoy Steve Witkoff.
This follows news yesterday that Putin reportedly offered to halt his offensive and freeze the front line in Ukraine if Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to hand over control of the eastern Donetsk region to Russia.
Multiple news outlets also reported that Putin has asked Ukraine to withdraw from the Donbas, which is made up of Donetsk and Luhansk, more widely.
Now Witkoff suggests that when Trump and Putin met, territorial concessions regarding all five eastern regions where control has been disputed were “at the table”.
What do we know about Donbas?
The area has been the source of territorial skirmishes between Ukraine and Russia since 2014.
The Donbas is predominantly Russian-speaking, and after Russia seized Crimea in 2014, its proxy forces gained a foothold there in a war that never came to an end
Just before he launched his invasion in 2022, Putin recognised all of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent from Ukraine, not just the limited statelets created by Moscow-backed proxies.
Freezing the frontline?
Yesterday, multiple outlets including the Financial Times, Bloomberg and Reuters were reporting that Putin told Trump he would end fighting on the rest of the front line in Ukraine if Zelensky hands over full control of the Donbas.
As the map below shows, this would require him to hand over some of the Donbas that Russia has not yet taken control of. This would also include the majority of Zaporizhzia and Kherson to the south – which Russia has captured.
Now, Witkoff says “all five” of these regions were under discussion between Trump and Putin and have always been “at the crux of the deal”.
Image source, Getty Images
The Ukrainian leader and European Commission President are due to attend a virtual meeting of European leaders.
First, they share a handshake.
We’re expecting the pair to hold a news conference shortly, you’ll be able to follow along by clicking watch live above.
Image caption, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wife Olena Zelenska and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Maidan Square in Kyiv
While Washington prepares to welcome Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, European leaders will convene a meeting on the war this afternoon.
The virtual call is being co-chaired by the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with more of Ukraine’s allies set to join.
They form part of the “coalition of the willing”, which is aimed at defending a deal in Ukraine and guaranteeing lasting peace.
The leaders last met last on Wednesday, when their call was joined part way through by US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments as the day progresses and will bring you the key lines from their meeting….CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
