WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was all smiles at the White House on Monday.
The Ukrainian president arrived at the White House around 1:00 p.m. and participated in peace talks with President Donald Trump and other world leaders for the next three hours. His visit comes immediately after Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, where the Russian and American leaders made “great progress,” according to Trump.
By Monday evening, Trump announced what many in the media had considered impossible: Zelensky and Putin would now meet, and, following their meeting, they would participate in a trilateral meeting that Trump would attend.
“This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday evening, noting that the afternoon’s meetings included discussions of security guarantees for Ukraine, what role European countries would play, and how the United States would coordinate.
Today’s visit stands in contrast to Zelensky’s last Oval Office meeting in February, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into the Ukrainian president for his demands and his lack of gratitude to the United States. Zelensky arrived at the White House for that meeting dressed in his casual black wartime outfit, prepared to make demands upon the United States that he had levied upon former President Joe Biden.
He was criticized — including by reporter Brian Glenn, who publicly asked Zelensky why he would disrespect the White House with his attire — told he was “gambling with World War III,” and sent home panicking.
This time, the Ukrainian president disembarked from his motorcade dressed in an all-black, “military-style” outfit that was still not a traditional suit, but a far cry from his typical garb. Trump greeted Zelensky warmly at the doors to the White House and quickly set the tone for the visit.
“I love it,” Trump said of the Ukrainian president’s attire, to which Zelensky replied with a smile, “It’s the best I have.”
President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
As his meeting with Trump began, Zelensky immediately told the American president that his wife was very touched by First Lady Melania Trump’s “peace letter” to Putin, which she sent before the Alaska meetings began, begging the Russian leader to be first in taking steps toward lasting peace with Ukraine, and reminding him that children, no matter where they are born, do not deserve the pain and suffering that accompanies war.
Zelensky gave Trump a letter for the First Lady of the United States from his own wife.
With that, the two leaders plunged into discussions of how to bring about peace between Russia and Ukraine. When media entered the Oval Office, Zelensky told them that his conversation with Trump was both “constructive” and “specific,” suggesting that it was “the best one” that he and Trump had ever had with one another.
“I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump…it was really good,” Zelensky told European leaders during a multilateral meeting later on Monday afternoon. “We spoke about very sensitive points.”
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 18: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on August 18, 2025 in Washington, DC (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
That multilateral was attended by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
It was a historic gathering of world leaders. The White House was teeming with press, both national and foreign, desperate for coverage of the day’s events.
“I covered the White House for more than a decade, and never witnessed a meeting like this,” said Fox News’s John Roberts.
Several European leaders who participated in the multilateral stressed that there must be a ceasefire before a trilateral meeting would take place between Zelensky, Putin, and Trump.
“I can’t imagine the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. “Let’s try to put pressure on Russia…because the credibility of these efforts depends on a ceasefire.”
Zelensky at the White House Monday (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace,” Trump told the leaders. “Maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment it’s not happening, but President Zelensky and President Putin can talk a little bit more about that.”
“In the six or so wars that we’ve stopped, we haven’t had a ceasefire,” he added. “So I don’t know that it’s necessary, you can do it through the war. But I like the ceasefire from another standpoint – you immediately stop the killing. But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that’s very attainable. And it can be done in the near future.”
The leaders all expressed gratitude to President Trump for his attempts at bringing peace between the two countries.
“I think in the past two weeks, we’ve probably had more progress in ending this war than we have in the past three and a half years,” Finland’s Stubb said.
Meloni told Trump that she was heartened to see, after three years of war, that “something has changed, thanks to you.”
And Starmer argued that Monday will be seen as “a very important day in recent years in relation to a conflict which has gone on for 3.5 years, and so far, nobody has been able to bring it to this point.”
“I thank you for that,” he said.
Multiple outlets have reported that Trump ducked out of the multilateral meeting at one point to speak with Putin on the phone. The Daily Wire has not yet confirmed this report, but the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday that it was rejecting the idea that NATO forces would be peacekeepers in Ukraine, an idea that Zelensky had suggested as one of his provisions in the peace talks.
“We confirm the position that has been voiced more than once about our categorical rejection of any scenarios involving the appearance of Ukraine military contingent with the participation of NATO countries (which is fraught with an uncontrolled escalation of the conflict with unpredictable consequences),” the foreign ministry said in a statement to Russian state media.
Trump had also suggested a security protection deal for Ukraine built by European leaders and the United States.
“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help … they are the first line of defense, because they’re there — they’re Europe,” Trump said on Monday. “But we’re going to help them out also. We’ll be involved.”
The multilateral meeting ended around 5:35 p.m, on Monday evening, after which the European leaders joined Trump in the Oval Office for more discussions.
Trump suggested several times on Monday that next steps might include setting up a trilateral meeting with Zelensky and Putin.
“I think it’s going to be when — not if,” Trump said of the trilateral.
And Zelensky specifically asked that Trump be part of such a meeting.
“Ukraine will be happy if you participate,” Zelensky said, looking across the table at Trump, who was listening intently, hands folded in front of him.
“If you want me there, I will be there,” Trump responded.
“Thank you. I think this is very important,” said the Ukrainian president.
