Overview

• Trump vowed U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s future security, promised “very good protection,” and said Putin had agreed to accept security guarantees for Ukraine.
• After a call with Putin on Monday, Trump said he began arranging a direct meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents that could precede a trilateral session with him.
• European leaders including NATO’s Mark Rutte, Ursula von der Leyen, Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni, Alexander Stubb, Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron joined Zelensky at the White House as Merz urged a ceasefire before the next meeting and Macron sought a four‑party format including Europe, contrasting with Trump’s view that a pause is not required to start talks.
• Trump publicly floated territorial discussions, asked Kyiv to forgo Crimea and NATO membership, and an unnamed official told AFP he backed a Russian proposal for Ukraine to cede Donetsk and Luhansk and freeze the front in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
• Fighting continued during the diplomacy, with a Russian drone strike killing seven in Kharkiv according to local authorities and occupation officials reporting two deaths in strikes in Kherson and Donetsk.