Trump Warmly Welcomes Zelensky, Who Donned A Suit, For Oval Meeting

Update1320: President Trump clearly appreciated that Zelensky actually showed up at the White House in a suit, in all black, after the Ukrainian delegation pulled up and quickly was welcomed into the White House.

Here’s how RT presented one somewhat wild exchange during the opening press Q&A inside the Oval Office:

Reporter: Are you open to holding elections in your country?

Zelensky: Of course… *then lists every reason not to hold one*

Trump: So if we’re at war 3.5 years from now — no more elections? Room bursts into laughter

President Trump JOKES about getting America into a war and then canceling all elections in 3 1/2 years from now like President Zelenskyy did.

Reporter: “Are you open to holding an election in your country?”

Zelenskyy: “Yes, of course.” pic.twitter.com/Gju31Pjbyd

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) August 18, 2025

Clearly Zelensky didn’t want to risk offending Trump before the high-stakes meeting – which also involves seven EU leaders – before it even started.

Zelensky followed the instructions and put on a suit to meet President Trump.

pic.twitter.com/Zg4LzL8pzI

— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) August 18, 2025

* * *

Ukraine’s President Zelensky has arrived in Washington with an entourage of European leaders sizeable enough that one wonders where they will all fit within the Oval Office for the highly anticipated meeting with President Trump to talk Ukraine peace, after Friday’s big – and controversial – Putin summit in Alaska.

No less than seven EU leaders are traveling to be there, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

“We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting,” Zelensky stated while en route to Washington. “I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance. Russia must end this war, which it itself started.”

The European leaders will no doubt show up wearing the appropriate attire, but will Zelensky be in a suit this time? The White House has actually requested it. “The White House asked Ukrainian officials if President Volodymyr Zelensky will wear a suit to his meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, two sources with direct knowledge tell Axios,” Axios reports. If he doesn’t this could possibly create subtle tensions from the beginning, and we know that the last Oval meeting involving Zelensky didn’t go so well.

The hightly ‘constructive’ and positive meeting in Alaska resulted in Putin suggesting a tentative agreement had been reached after meeting with the US president, while Trump downplayed the outcome by reminding, “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.” In a subsequent interview, Trump noted that any agreement would require Ukraine’s approval and said he would advise the Zelensky government to consider making a deal – and no doubt this caused the Europeans a sigh of relief.

Currently there remain mixed messages coming from within the Trump administration about how much progress is being made, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicating that a ceasefire is still on the table – and that compromises will have to be made by both sides, including on the area of territory.

Bloomberg in fresh analysis has pointed out that jumping straight into peace negotiations could benefit Putin by giving him time to improve his position on the battlefield and the ability to shift the blame to Zelensky if talks fall through. Sanctions would also be delayed, and the chances of new sanctions currently appear low. Zelensky and European leaders are expected to push back against this possibility – which would leave Putin in the driver’s seat with little consequences – in their discussions with Trump.

Below are some likely outcome scenarios and fresh analysis via Bloomberg:

• Zelenkiy’s key aims are securing a lasting ceasefire, NATO-like security guarantees, and sustained sanctions on Russia if Moscow rejects peace terms. He will also insist on participation in all talks, stressing that decisions about Ukraine’s future require Ukrainian input.

• Ukraine has signaled some flexibility on de facto control along current frontlines, but refuses to formally cede territory, including Crimea, seeing this as unconstitutional and a prelude to further Russian aggression. Kyiv also rejects any limits on its military or European Union aspirations, as well as Russian demands on domestic issues such as language rights.

• Ukraine is likely to reject any Russian proposal to withdraw from the fortified 25% of Donetsk it controls in exchange for Russia leaving small pockets in Kharkiv and Sumy. Kyiv sees Donetsk as vital to its defense and a barrier to further offensives, while Russia’s presence in Kharkiv and Sumy carries little strategic value, making such a deal unattractive.

• Zelenskiy also remains wary of deals without enforceable security guarantees, given Moscow’s record of treaty violations. Ukraine’s strategy is to resist pressure for unfavorable terms while preserving unity with European allies.

• Meanwhile, European leaders will seek to ensure Kyiv’s interests are fully reflected in any settlement. They will also likely press Washington to support a credible, European-led framework to deter Russia from future offensives, while urging Trump that economic pressure on Moscow must intensify unless Putin shows genuine readiness to end the war.

Bloomberg Trump-Zelensky meeting matrix on each side’s desired outcomes:

“The bottom line is that a swift peace deal remains unlikely, given the gulf between Kyiv and Moscow,” concludes Bloomberg. “The challenge for Zelenskiy and European leaders is to accommodate Trump’s push for a quick win, while avoiding a settlement deeply unfavorable to Ukraine and Europe’s security.”

Delegations are expected arrive around midday, and several hours of meetings will follow. The schedule:

• Noon (16:00 GMT): European leaders arrive at the White House.
• 1pm (17:00 GMT): Zelenskyy arrives at the White House.
• 1:15pm (17:15 GMT): Meeting held between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
• 2:15pm (18:15 GMT): Trump greets the European leaders in the State Dining Room.
• 2:30pm (18:30 GMT): A “family photo” taken in Cross Hall.
• 3pm (19:00 GMT): A multilateral meeting held in the East Room.

* * *

Below are more details and headline news stories related to Ukraine and Russia, and what to watch out for today, via Newsquawk:

MONDAY

• White House said US President Trump will greet Ukrainian President Zelensky at 13:00EDT/18:00BST on Monday and will participate in a bilateral meeting with Zelensky at 13:15EDT/18:15BST, while European leaders will arrive at the White House on Monday at 12:00EDT/17:00BST and President Trump will greet European leaders at 14:15EDT/19:15BST with a multilateral meeting to take place at 15:00EDT/20:00BST.

• “European leaders have 3 main goals in DC today 1) pin down more details on poss US security guarantees; 2) work on preparations for the poss trilateral Putin, Zelensky & Trump meeting, and 3) push back forcefully on the idea of “land swaps”, via Eurasia.

• Click here for the Newsquawk multilateral meeting.

US

• US President Trump said they made great progress in the meeting with Russian President Putin which he said was “a 10” and there are just a few points left to agree upon and a few things left to resolve, but added there is no deal until there is a deal and there are one or two significant items left to agree on and it is ultimately up to NATO and Ukraine to agree. Trump said they negotiated on NATO, security and land, while he also stated that he could meet Putin again soon and could see a Moscow meeting possibly happening, as well as noted that Putin wants to see an end to the killing like he does.

• US President Trump commented on Truth Social that it was a great and very successful day in Alaska and that the meeting with Russian President Putin went very well, as did a late-night phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky and various European leaders. Trump added it was determined by all that the best way to end the Russia-Ukraine war is to go directly to a peace agreement and not a mere ceasefire agreement which often does not hold. Furthermore, he said Zelensky will visit the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, and if all works out, they will then schedule a meeting with Putin.

• US President Trump posted “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”

• US Special Envoy Witkoff said US President Trump and Russian President Putin agreed at their summit that the US would be able to offer security guarantees to Ukraine.

• US Secretary of State Rubio said both Ukraine and Russia will have to make concessions to get a peace deal and there were things discussed in the Trump-Putin meeting that have potential for breakthroughs to end the war. Rubio suggested that to end the war, there are things Russia and Ukraine want but cannot get and it may not be possible for the US to create a scenario to end the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, he said security guarantees will be discussed in Monday’s meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky and others, while Rubio added that he is not saying they are on the verge of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, but they saw enough movement to justify a follow-up meeting with Zelensky.

• US President Trump said in a pre-recorded interview with Fox that if they have to do sanctions, they will do it and the next meeting will have both Ukrainian President Zelensky and Russian President Putin.

UKRAINE

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for constructive cooperation and will travel to Washington D.C. on Monday, while he added that Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace and the call with US President Trump and Europeans discussed positive signals and lasted for more than 90 minutes. Furthermore, he said Ukraine supports President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the US and Russia. It was separately reported that Zelensky said he emphasised to Trump that pressure on Russia should be stepped up and noted that security must be guaranteed reliably and in the long term.

• Ukrainian President Zelensky announced he arrived in the US and is grateful to President Trump for the invitation, while he added that they all equally want to end this war swiftly and securely, as well as hopes their shared strength with America and European friends will compel Russia to real peace.

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces saw a success for a second day in a row repelling a Russian assault near Dobropillya and Russia might step up frontline attacks in the coming days. It was separately reported that Ukraine’s military said its forces advanced up to two kilometres on the Sumy front.

RUSSIA

• Russian President Putin said he is sincerely interested in ending the conflict, but all ‘root causes’ must be eliminated and all Russia’s concerns must be taken into account. Putin said negotiations were productive and useful. Putin said the personal meeting has been overdue and was necessary to rectify the situation, while he hopes that a mutual understanding will bring peace to Ukraine and he agrees with US President Trump on the need for Ukraine’s security. Furthermore, he said the agreements should be a starting point and that a Russia-US Investment partnership has huge potential. It was also reported that Putin told Trump that if Ukraine fully withdraws from eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Russia would freeze the front line in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. It was also reported that the Kremlin said a trilateral summit with Ukraine was not discussed yet and there is no date set for another Trump-Putin meeting.

• Senior Russian diplomat said Russia agrees any future peace agreement on Ukraine must provide security guarantees to Kyiv, but Moscow also needs guarantees, while the official said the West has not been thinking about security guarantees for Russia, and this needs to be corrected with Moscow ready to assist.

• Russia said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 300 Ukrainian drones, while it announced it hit a storage site for Ukrainian Sapsan operational-tactical missiles, according to IFAX. It was also reported that Russia’s FSB security service said it prevented a Ukrainian drone attack on the Smolensky nuclear power plant.

EUROPE

• European leaders have been invited to join US President Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House on Monday and it was reported that UK PM Starmer, German Chancellor Merz, French President Macron, Italian PM Meloni, Finland’s President Stubb, European Commission President von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Rutte will join the Trump-Zelensky meeting on Monday.

• European leaders issued a joint statement on the Trump-Putin summit in which they stated that they welcome US President Trump’s efforts and support for providing security guarantees, while they added that Russia cannot have a veto on Ukraine’s pathway to the EU and NATO.

• EU Council President Costa said transatlantic unity is paramount at this moment to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine and if no ceasefire is agreed, the EU and the US must increase pressure on Russia, while he added that Ukraine’s sovereign right to determine its conditions for peace must be respected.

• EU Commission spokesperson said Ukraine’s allies held a positive exchange ahead of Monday’s meeting with US President Trump and the video conference focused on key matters such as the need to stop the killing in Ukraine and the commitment to maintain full pressure on Russia via sanctions.

• German Chancellor Merz said the US is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine, while he added they would have liked there to have been an agreement on a ceasefire and stated there are no territorial negotiations on Ukraine that are going over the heads of the Europeans. It was separately reported that Germany’s Foreign Minister said any Ukraine peace agreement requires security guarantees for Ukraine, and that Europe is ready to provide them together with the US.

• French President Macron said the situation ahead of talks in Washington is extremely serious for Ukraine and Europe, while he added they want Ukraine’s territorial integrity to be respected and want a strong and lasting peace for Ukraine. Macron said their goal for talks on Monday is to present a united front between Ukraine and its European allies, as well as warned that if they show weakness today in front of Russia, they are laying the ground for future conflicts. Furthermore, Macron said he thinks the answer is no to the question of whether he thinks Russian President Putin wants peace.

• Statement from the Nordic Baltic eight leaders noted that they will continue to arm Ukraine and enhance Europe’s defences to deter further Russian aggression, while they will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy.

* * *

And below is John Mearsheimer on the aftermath of the Alaska Summit:

The desired next step for Trump is to see Presidents Putin and Zelensky in the same room, to settle on a final deal to end the war in Ukraine, and reports have suggested Trump wants to make this happen as soon as Friday, but what happens Monday could be a large determining factor.