Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday 18 August, two days after Mr Trump’s Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin ended without a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine.
Announcing the visit on Saturday, Mr Zelenskyy wrote on X: “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.” He added that European involvement at each stage remained important to secure reliable guarantees alongside the United States.
We had a long and substantive conversation with @POTUS. We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump.
Ukraine reaffirms… pic.twitter.com/64IPVhtFaB
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025
The announcement followed a lengthy telephone call between the two leaders after the Anchorage summit. Mr Zelenskyy said the conversation lasted more than an hour and a half, beginning one-to-one before European leaders joined. He said Kyiv had heard “positive signals” from the American side regarding potential participation in security guarantees for Ukraine.
Mr Trump confirmed the meeting on his social media platform, stating that President Zelenskyy would come to the Oval Office on Monday afternoon. He added that, “if all works out,” a subsequent meeting with President Putin would be scheduled. Mr Trump also said that the “best way to end the horrific war… is to go directly to a Peace Agreement… and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement.”
The Washington talks are expected to focus on the parameters for any future negotiations with Russia, including the question of security guarantees, and on a possible trilateral format involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia. Mr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine supports discussing “key issues at the level of leaders” and that a three-way format would be suitable for that purpose.
Friday’s meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage concluded without a ceasefire or formal deal. Both sides spoke of progress but gave no details. Reports described an early end and a brief joint appearance, with no concrete outcomes announced.
Mr Zelenskyy was not present at the Alaska summit. In recent days he has underlined the need for European participation in any arrangements that might follow, arguing that coordination with EU and NATO partners will be necessary for long-term security guarantees. According to accounts from Washington and Kyiv, European leaders joined part of Saturday’s call with Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Those said to have taken part included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. There was no formal joint read-out; officials confirmed only that the leaders compared assessments of the Alaska talks and discussed next steps.
No agenda has been published for Monday’s meeting. Ukrainian officials have previously indicated that Kyiv is seeking binding, internationally backed security commitments, sustained military assistance, and measures to deter renewed aggression. The US side has signalled it wants talks beyond a temporary ceasefire, though no public red lines have been set.
The timing of the Washington visit places Kyiv at the centre of post-Alaska diplomacy. Any subsequent trilateral contact would depend on outcomes from Monday’s discussions and on Moscow’s response. Russian officials have said that the question of a three-way meeting was not formally raised in the Alaska talks.
Fighting has continued despite the diplomatic moves. Ukraine’s Air Force reported overnight attacks involving one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed-type drones, of which 61 were intercepted, with strikes recorded in front-line regions including Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Chernihiv. Against that backdrop, Kyiv has argued that any credible process must be anchored in durable security guarantees rather than a pause in hostilities that could be reversed.
For now, the immediate next step is the Oval Office meeting on Monday. Both leaders have presented the session as an opportunity to examine possible frameworks for ending the war and to review potential security guarantees. With no ceasefire in place following the Alaska talks, the conflict continues on the ground while diplomatic efforts shift to Washington.
