Volodymyr Zelensky clearly learned some lessons from his calamitous Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump back in February. That much was apparent today just from the Ukrainian leader’s outfit. Back then, Zelensky took heat from Trump allies who felt that a suit—and not his trademark wartime ensemble—would have been more appropriate attire for an audience with the American president. Today, Zelensky showed up in a black blazer and a black collared shirt, earning praise from the same MAGA-aligned reporter who’d needled him about his sartorial choices six months ago—and from Trump himself.
Zelensky, who met with Trump in the Oval Office before he was flanked by European leaders for a broader discussion, adjusted more than his fashion. He also heeded the urgent advice of his continental counterparts: Show Trump gratitude, and don’t take the bait. With everything at stake for his country, Zelensky began his meeting with Trump by thanking him and the first lady, Melania Trump, for delivering to Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “peace letter” asking him to look out for the welfare of children amid war. Zelensky then handed Trump a note from Ukraine’s first lady.
“It’s not for you; it’s for your wife,” said Zelensky, a former comedian, prompting laughs around the room. When reporters asked him about the losses his troops were suffering, he pivoted to praising the U.S. president for his leadership. Trump smiled.
It was a striking contrast to the meeting six months ago, when Trump, red-faced and angry, accused an agitated Zelensky of failing to show enough gratitude to the United States. The blowup was so heated that the Ukrainian delegation was sent from the White House without being allowed to eat their waiting lunch.
Trump, who is convinced that his dealmaking mojo is what’s needed to finally bring an end to the war in Ukraine, three and a half years after the Russian invasion, has been sending mixed signals on the path to getting there. After months of largely siding with Putin, he soured on Moscow in recent weeks and threatened sanctions before rolling out a red carpet on Friday in Alaska for a man accused of war crimes. After the two leaders met, Trump announced that working toward a full peace deal—not an immediate cease-fire agreement, which Kyiv wants—would be the best path forward. This alarmed European leaders, who rushed to be by Zelensky’s side in Washington today in a remarkable show of solidarity and an equally impressive feat of logistics.
The Europeans hoped to reinforce the importance of future security guarantees for Ukraine while ensuring that the meeting with Trump didn’t descend into chaos. They also wanted to restore a cease-fire deal to the top of the agenda.
That sticking point became something of a case study for how to manage Trump. The president gathered the Europeans into the White House’s East Room in a manner reminiscent of how he typically assembles his Cabinet, with members taking turns praising him. A similar dynamic developed with the European leaders today. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni touted a new chance for peace, telling Trump, “Something has changed, thanks to you.” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, smiled politely when Trump veered offtrack and celebrated the U.S.’s recent trade deal with the European Union. One after another, the Europeans attested to the good-faith efforts of all involved to bring the war to an end. But then, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after being sure to first thank Trump for his leadership, voiced the group’s belief that another summit with Putin could not occur without a cease-fire. Trump appeared cool to the idea. ”In the six wars I have settled, I haven’t had a cease-fire,” he replied.
Trump called Putin in between meetings with Zelensky and the European officials this afternoon to loop him in, hopeful that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky would be possible. Trump said that once those two have spoken, he wants a trilateral discussion in which he would take part.
Top European officials said that they remain cautiously optimistic at best about the prospects that U.S. mediation can end the Ukraine war, with some expressing skepticism with regard to Trump’s abilities and intentions. But they have little choice but to follow his lead: An end to American support for Kyiv—as fickle as it may be—would prove devastating to the Ukrainian cause.
The Europeans were heartened by Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. could offer some sort of security guarantee for Ukraine. But Trump was noncommittal about the details, including whether the U.S. would lend financial support and perhaps even boots on the ground to a European-led security force established in Ukraine to deter another invasion. And despite White House officials saying this past weekend that Putin was willing to accept some sort of peacekeeping force in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry released a statement today in which it offered “a categorical rejection of any scenarios involving the presence of a military contingent from NATO countries in Ukraine.”
In Alaska, Putin got applause and a warm handshake, a military flyover and a ride in the presidential limousine. By contrast, Zelensky was awarded little pomp and circumstance. The European leaders got even less: They were greeted on the White House driveway by the head of protocol, not by Trump himself.
At times this afternoon, Trump’s attention seemed to wander from the matter at hand. He seized on the chance to speak to the media about far more than just the prospects for peace in Ukraine. He went on long tangents about his problems with mail-in election ballots and the failures, in his view, of Joe Biden. (Zelensky, having learned his lesson, just stared ahead blankly during these extended riffs.)
The outlines of the deal Trump envisions are well known: Zelensky would need to surrender parts of Ukraine to Russia in exchange for an end to the fighting and security guarantees intended to dissuade Russia from attacking again. Trump’s top advisers took to the airwaves yesterday to stress the need for concessions by both sides. That language irks Ukrainian and European diplomats who believe that Russia must withdraw from territory it has captured since February 2022, when it launched its full-scale invasion. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation that “in order for there to be an end to the war, there are things that Russia wants that it cannot get, and there are things that Ukraine wants that it’s not going to get. Both sides are going to have to give up something in order to get to the table.”
Putin gave no indication on Friday that he was inclined to accept genuine reconciliation. And Russia shows no signs of stopping on the battlefield. At least 10 people were killed and 14 wounded in cities across Ukraine early today, just hours before Zelensky and the other European leaders arrived at the White House.
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