Overview
- President Zelenskyy arrived in Washington on Aug. 18 with Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz, Giorgia Meloni, Alexander Stubb and Mark Rutte to demonstrate unified European support.
- President Trump signaled on Truth Social that Ukraine must forgo recovering Crimea and entering NATO to secure a swift peace deal, marking a shift from his earlier insistence on a ceasefire precondition.
- U.S. envoys including Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio are advancing a proposal for NATO-style defense guarantees offered to Ukraine outside formal alliance membership.
- European leaders warned that any peace framework must not reward territorial conquest or compel Ukraine to make unacceptable concessions.
- Russian drone and missile strikes, notably the recent attack on Kharkiv, have continued during diplomatic talks, underscoring the urgency of binding security assurances.