Overview

• After hosting Zelensky and top European leaders, Trump said he would seek a three‑way meeting with Putin and later phoned the Kremlin to explore the idea, though no agreement or date was announced.
• Russia signaled caution through Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying any leader‑level encounter must be thoroughly prepared, while Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov offered only evasive support for elevating talks.
• Heads of government and institutions from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission and NATO backed Ukraine in Washington and urged concrete safeguards alongside a ceasefire.
• Talks highlighted hard gaps over territory in Donbas and Crimea and over Ukraine’s security architecture, with Trump rejecting NATO membership for Kyiv but pointing to potential NATO‑style guarantees under negotiation.
• Fighting continued during the diplomacy, including a Russian drone strike that killed six in Kharkiv and new attacks on energy infrastructure, underscoring the urgency and limits of the talks.