Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting with White House President Donald Trump tonight. He won't be there alone, however; several European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are also planning separate meetings with Trump in Washington. In total, seven European leaders will fly to the US capital.
Today's summit in Washington, D.C. follows last week's in Alaska. Neither Trump nor Putin released any conclusions after the summit.
However, the US president has already indicated today that he and Putin have agreed that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO and that Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, will not be returned to Ukraine. Ukraine refuses this, and it also does not intend to give up the occupied parts of Donbas. Trump claims that Zelensky can end the war with Russia"if he wants to".
The meeting between Trump and Zelensky began after 7 p.m. local time. European leaders will also meet with the American president in Washington later.
More talks will now follow, including those between Trump and European leaders who have arrived in Washington. We could learn the results late tonight.
We are following the event ONLINE:
20:14 – European leaders are already in Washington D.C. negotiating with Trump. We are waiting for the results of the negotiations late this evening.
20:09 – The historic summit in Alaska between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lasted several hours, but it raised more questions. Read what Putin is demanding from Ukraine in an article by foreign correspondent Samuel Škultéty. It's not a small amount – Ukraine is to give up the occupied territories and its hopes for NATO membership:
19:41 – It looks like Trump didn't argue with Zelensky in the Oval Office this time. The last time the Ukrainian president was there, in late February, both Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance criticized him for not being grateful.
The reporter who last criticized Zelensky for his attire says the Ukrainian president looks"amazing" in a suit, to which Trump responds that he said the same thing.
Zelensky also jokingly notes that the reporter apologizing to him is wearing the same suit:“I changed, you didn’t.”
19:35: – Trump is asked by reporters whether the US will send American troops to Ukraine to secure a peace agreement.
"We will work with Ukraine, we will work with everyone" to ensure that peace is "very long-term."
The US will work with both Russia and Ukraine to "make sure it works," he adds.
19:20 – Zelensky thanked Trump for his invitation to the White House. Among other things, Zelensky, through Trump, thanked Trump's wife Melania, who delivered a letter to Putin about the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russian soldiers. Zelensky thus sold a letter from his wife, which Melania dedicated to Trump.
19:15 – The last expected guest arrived at the White House - Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky was personally awaited by Trump. Zelensky accepted a compromise, arriving in a suit, but in a military style.
According to analysts, Trump received Zelenky more warmly than in February, but the reception, according to analysts, was not as warm as on Friday in Alaska in Trump's case.
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518:26 – European leaders are slowly arriving at the White House, first came NATO chief Mark Rutte, followed by Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
16:42 – Vladimir Putin is immediately looking to his allies for support after meeting with Donald Trump. He has already spoken by phone with Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both members of the BRICS alliance. The leaders of Brazil and India have called for a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky is being accompanied by major European powers to the White House.
16:37 – TubularThe German daily Bild has warned that tensions between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky may already be growing – even over clothing. The White House has reportedly asked if the Ukrainian president will come to today's meeting in a suit. Trump had already criticized him during a previous meeting for the military style that Zelensky wears as a symbol of leading the country in war. Analysts point out that the suit would send a signal of a return to"normality", which they say could play into Moscow's hands.
16:30 – Listen to our podcast today News NAHLAS about the upcoming meeting between Zelensky and Trump. Russia is humiliating Ukraine and perhaps just wants to buy time to rearm. Will Europe support Zelensky or Trump with Putin? Asked the editor of News Katarína Runnová and the foreign editor Pavol Štrba answered.
15:55 - Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg before negotiations with the US President, Ukrinform reports.
13:58 - Russia has struck a facility of the Azerbaijani oil company SOCAR in Odessa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and local authorities have confirmed. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybih, it was a deliberate attack against Baku's interests.
13:48 - The White House asked Ukrainian officials whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy would wear a suit to meet with Donald Trump. The Axios website reports. We remind you that in February, Zelenskyy's outfit irritated not only Trump, but also some pro-Trump bloggers, who criticized the Ukrainian president for not wearing a suit during his visit to the White House. Zelenskyy is expected to arrive at the White House on Monday in the same black jacket that he wore at the NATO summit in June.
13:45 - Slovak transporter Transpetrol announced that supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline have been interrupted. According to the company, the cause of the outage is outside Slovakia.
13:32 - Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called on President Donald Trump to threaten Russia with economic ruin if Moscow does not end the war in Ukraine"fairly and honestly." According to him, the US should convince Putin that otherwise"the destruction of the Russian economy" will be inevitable.
Graham said a key part of the strategy is tough tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy, noting that Trump had already increased tariffs on India to 50 percent this month after imposing an additional 25 percent on its purchases of Russian oil.
12:52 - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told several German media outlets that Germany is ruling out sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. According to him, the Bundeswehr is already overstretched, as a 5,000-strong armored contingent is operating in Lithuania to reinforce NATO's eastern flank.
“Doing this and having troops in Ukraine at the same time would probably overwhelm us,” Wadephul said. His comments come just before Chancellor Friedrich Merz leaves for Washington and could cause some tension. He had already caused a stir when he prematurely announced a commitment to spend five percent of GDP on defense, a move that the government only officially adopted later.
512:36 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the latest Russian attacks as"demonstrative and cynical", linking their timing to today's meeting in Washington to end the war.
He stressed that together with President Trump and the leaders of the EU and NATO, they will negotiate a dignified peace and real security. In the meantime, however, Russia has struck Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Sumy region and Odessa, where children have also died - among the victims is a 1.5-year-old girl.
In Zaporizhia, missile strikes claimed three lives and injured dozens, while in Odessa, an energy facility belonging to an Azerbaijani company was targeted. “Putin will continue demonstrative killings to humiliate diplomatic efforts – and that is why we need real security guarantees,” Zelenskyy said.
This was a demonstrative and cynical Russian strike. They are aware that a meeting is taking place today in Washington that will address the end of the war.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 18, 2025
We will have a discussion with President Trump about key issues. Along with Ukraine, the leaders of the United Kingdom,…
12:16 - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha reacted sharply to the accusations of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who blamed Kiev for the attack on a Russian oil pipeline heading to Hungary. He told him on social media to address his complaints to Moscow.
“Peter, this war was not started by Ukraine, but by Russia, which refuses to end it,” he wrote. He recalled that Hungary had been warned for years that Moscow was an unreliable partner, but even after the start of a full-fledged invasion, Budapest chose to remain dependent on Russia. “Your complaints, and threats – you can now send them to your friends in Moscow,” Sybiha added.
Peter, it is Russia, not Ukraine, who started this war and refuses to end it. Hungary has been told for years that Moscow is an unreliable partner. Despite this, Hungary has made every effort to maintain its reliance on Russia. Even after the full-scale war began. You can now send… https://t.co/yvMq8slTG0
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) August 18, 2025
11:52 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an agreement to provide"strong" security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal, including a provision that would ensure the collective defense of Ukraine by the United States and Europe in the event of another Russian invasion, US Ambassador Steve Witkoff told CNN.
Witkoff added that the provision Russia agreed to was a compromise over Russia's insistence that Ukraine could never join NATO. He said the Russians had also committed to"enshrining in legislation" a promise that they would never attack Ukraine or any other European country in the future.
11:26 – According to American media, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are scheduled to meet today at 7 p.m. local time. According to the published schedule, the US-Ukrainian meeting is expected to last about an hour. Trump will then meet with European leaders.
10:50 - Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has sharply criticized Ukraine after he said it had again attacked an oil pipeline to Hungary, disrupting supplies. He said it was an"unacceptable attack on energy security" and that Russian experts were working to restore operations, but it was not yet clear when supplies would be restored.
He added that Brussels and Kiev have been trying to drag Hungary into war for years, and that repeated attacks on energy supplies have the same goal."This is not our war. We have nothing to do with it and Hungary will stay out of it," he said.
Szijjártó also recalled that electricity from Hungary is also important for Ukraine itself.
Ukraine has once again attacked the oil pipeline leading to Hungary, cutting off supplies. This latest strike against our energy security is outrageous and unacceptable!
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) August 18, 2025
Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin informed me that experts are working to restore the transformer…
10:41 - US President Donald Trump will first meet with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House and then with the leaders of five European countries, the heads of the EU and NATO - a gesture of unity among Ukraine's main allies.
According to BBC analyst Tom Bateman, Zelensky is taking a big risk, as Trump has moved closer to Putin's position after the Alaska summit and is talking about negotiating territories before the fighting stops. Putin is seeking to control all of Donbas, which Zelensky has repeatedly rejected.
10:33 - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has rejected claims that European leaders are accompanying Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House to prevent him from being"bullied". In an interview with CBS, he called it a"stupid media narrative". According to him, the Europeans are coming because the US has already coordinated negotiations with them in advance.
10:39 - While European leaders, along with Volodymyr Zelensky, are preparing to meet with Donald Trump, Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with four missiles and 140 drones, the Ukrainian Air Force announced.
According to him, 88 drones were shot down, but strikes were reported from 25 locations in six regions of the country. President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief adviser, Andriy Yermak, confirmed"another Russian ballistic attack" on Zaporizhia.
He added on the X network that this is why Putin is rejecting a ceasefire,"enjoying the shelling of peaceful cities while talking about the alleged desire to end the war." According to Yermak, there is no visible effort by Moscow to stop the conflict so far.
Zaporizhzhia. Another Russian ballistic strike on our city.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) August 18, 2025
This is exactly why Putin doesn’t want a ceasefire — he enjoys shelling peaceful cities while talking about a supposed desire to end the war.So far, we see no such desire.
10:27 - According to a source close to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the British government agrees to territorial changes in Ukraine that would be given to Russia. However, this is still an unofficial report, as reported by BBC.
10:26 - Ahead of talks in Washington, Donald Trump said that Volodymyr Zelensky could end the war with Russia"almost immediately." According to him, Ukraine has no chance of joining NATO or regaining Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
He posted his message on Truth Social just hours before meeting with European leaders. Trump also reiterated that some things “never change.” His comments raised concerns that he was pressuring Kiev to accept Moscow’s terms, according to The Guardian.
10:20 – After landing in Washington a few hours ago, Zelensky thanked Trump in a post on X for inviting him to the White House. “We all share a strong desire to quickly and reliably end this war. And the peace must be lasting,” he wrote.
"I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee its security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, all Americans, and all partners and allies for their support and invaluable assistance." The British portal BBC writes.
