Donald Trump welcomed Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, and both have talked up the chances of a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Keir Starmer and other European leaders were also there for talks about ending the war in Ukraine. Follow live below.
Tuesday 19 August 2025 04:00, UK
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European leaders are set to meet later today, for a debrief after talks in Washington DC.
Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, said a video call had been set up at 1pm (12pm UK time).
It will include all members of the European Council, the highest political body of the EU.
“Together with the US, the EU will continue working towards a lasting peace that safeguards Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests,” Costa wrote on X.
The White House has released a photo of Donald Trump speaking on the phone with Vladimir Putin.
The president spoke to his Russian counterpart in the Oval Office after finishing talks with European leaders.
No date has yet been set for a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, the Ukrainian president said earlier that he is “ready” to meet his Russian counterpart in any format, but he doesn’t know when that will be.
The two leaders have only met once before, back in 2019.
Here’s what happened during that summit:
Things have wound down in the White House now.
We’re going to keep our coverage running, so if you are just joining us, here’s a catch-up of everything you need to know.
A phalanx of European leaders joined Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House yesterday.
They were hoping to make progress winning over Donald Trump and avoid a repeat of the disastrous trip the Ukrainian leader made to the Oval Office in February.
Before we begin, here’s a reminder of how badly things went last time…
Monday’s meeting in Washington largely exceeded expectations for Ukraine and its allies.
Not only did Trump seem on board with some form of security guarantees the US leader also said Vladimir Putin had agreed to them as well.
However, a note of caution is needed as despite efforts, no leaders were able to draw Trump to commit more to such guarantees – or offer much in the way of details of how they would work.
Watch the leaders speaking here…
For Zelenskyy meanwhile, the trip was an undoubted success when compared to February.
Wearing a suit, the Ukrainian leader smiled, laughed and joked in the Oval Office in a far better natured meeting than last time.
He seemed to have learned his lesson.
Watch the full story of Zelenskyy, the White House, and his suit (or lack thereof) here…
Trump outlined what the possible next steps could be in a lengthy social media post.
The US leader said a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin could be next – followed by a trilateral which Trump himself would attend.
He also spoke to Putin this evening in a call.
After the meeting, European leaders seemed more upbeat about the prospects of an end to war in Ukraine.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: “There’s a feeling that these are decisive days for Ukraine.”
Finland’s Alexander Stubb, Trump’s golfing partner, said talks were constructive and agreements were reached on security guarantees and steps forward.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said the US and countries within the coalition of willing are working collaboratively on security guarantees that will secure lasting peace in Ukraine.
Watch our US correspondent Mark Stone’s analysis of the day’s developments…
And a couple of timelines to keep an eye on:
French president, Emmanuel Macron, joined other European leaders in speaking after discussions at the White House finished.
He said Donald Trump is confident that Ukraine and Russia can agree a peace deal, but if the process is met by refusal from Russia, sanctions should be increased.
He pointed out that Trump has already imposed tariffs on India for buying Russian energy, according to Agence France-Presse
The French president added that he is “not convinced Russia wants peace” and voiced support for a ceasefire as a prerequisite to any direct talks with Russia.
Russia has called the White House meetings an “important day of diplomacy”.
In the first comments from Moscow since the meetings concluded, Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, said: “An important day of diplomacy today with the focus on lasting peace not a temporary ceasefire.”
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was Vladimir Putin who suggested a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, followed by one including the US.
Donald Trump also said Putin would accept agreed security guarantees, but we have yet to hear from the Russian president himself.
We have just heard from Sir Keir Starmer, who said there was a “sense of unity” at the White House meeting between the seven European leaders, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He said there were “two material outcomes” of the discussions.
The first, a confirmation that the coalition of willing – a group of 31 countries that have pledged to help strengthen Ukraine – will work with the US on security guarantees.
He told Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates: “I always said we would need a US backstop, so I am really pleased we are coordinating on a common understanding, this is an Article-Five-like agreement.
“We have already instructed our teams to start tomorrow on setting out the detail with the view to complete this piece of work in a very short period of time.”
Starmer defined Article-Five as a “lasting deal, that is enforced if necessary” and if breached by Putin will have consequences.
The second, that a bilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy will take place, followed by a trilateral meeting, where Trump will join.
“On some of these issues, whether it is territory, the exchange of prisoners or the very serious issue of the return of the children, it is clear that Ukraine must be at the table,” Starmer said.
“We have made real progress today.”
We have heard a lot about what was discussed during talks at the White House, but NATO secretary general Mark Rutte has said the topic of troops on the ground in Ukraine was “not discussed at all”.
Speaking to Fox News, he said more details on US security guarantees will be discussed more over the next few days, but it remains unknown precisely what these guarantees will look like.
“It’s a breakthrough that the US will get involved,” Rutte said, without going into further detail.
We’ve just heard from Finland’s Alexander Stubb – see our previous post – and now we’re hearing from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader says he’s ready to meet Vladimir Putin in any format.
He also says that it was Putin who suggested a bilateral Ukraine-Russia meeting followed by a trilateral meeting involving the US.
This raises questions because before his call with Putin, Trump was saying a trilateral meeting would be next but afterwards he said it would only take place following a meeting between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyy adds that he discussed security guarantees with Trump and Europe today and says he received important signals from the US on the guarantees.
The details of such security guarantees, Zelenskyy says, will be worked out within 10 days.
The US offered to have the trilateral meeting as soon as possible, Zelenskyy goes on to say.
Some of this we heard earlier today, during Zelenskyy’s remarks in the White House.
“Ukraine will never stop on the path to peace, and we are ready for any format [of meeting],” Zelenskyy says.
He has now finished speaking.
Finland’s Alexander Stubb is the latest European leader to speak after the meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy and other leaders finished at the White House.
Describing talks as “constructive” the president said details of any US security guarantees will be “ironed out in the next week or so”.
On a potential meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, Stubb said it is a waiting game to see if the Russian leader “has the courage” to attend.
“He cannot be trusted,” Stubb said.
“I’m most sceptical over Putin’s commitment to this process.
“Within a week, we could get something more concrete on US security guarantees, followed by the bilateral [meeting], hopefully within a few weeks.”
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