Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that it is Russia’s responsibility to end the ongoing conflict, as he prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington with US President Donald Trump.
“Russia must end this war, which it itself started,” Zelensky said on Sunday after arriving in the US capital. “Ukrainians are fighting for their land, their independence. I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”
The comments come just hours before Zelensky is scheduled to meet Trump, alongside European leaders, in what could be a decisive moment for efforts to end the three-and-a-half-year war.
Trump, who recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, suggested that Zelensky could bring the conflict to an end “almost immediately, if he wants to.” Writing on Truth Social late Sunday, Trump added: “Remember how it started.
No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”
Monday’s summit in Washington will also involve the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to the White House.
China has meanwhile urged “all parties” to reach a peace agreement “as soon as possible.”
This marks Zelensky’s first visit to Washington since a heated Oval Office exchange with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February, when the Ukrainian leader was accused of being “ungrateful.”
Escalating Violence Ahead of Talks
Russia intensified its strikes ahead of the meeting, with Ukraine’s air force reporting at least 140 drones and four ballistic missiles launched between late Sunday and early Monday. A Russian drone hit a five-story apartment block in Kharkiv, killing at least seven people, while Moscow-installed authorities reported that Ukrainian shelling killed two in Russian-occupied parts of Kherson and Donetsk.
Security Guarantees on the Table
Speaking in Brussels on the eve of his US trip, Zelensky welcomed Washington’s offer of security guarantees for Ukraine as “historic.”
Trump confirmed he had discussed with Putin the possibility of a collective defense arrangement for Ukraine outside the NATO framework.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff also said Moscow had shown “some concessions” on the future of five Ukrainian regions, with “important discussion with regard to Donetsk” expected during Monday’s talks.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and moved to claim Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, and Zaporizhzhia in 2022, despite not fully controlling them. A source briefed on Trump’s recent calls with European leaders told AFP the US president was “inclined to support” Russian demands for territory it has not yet seized in Donbas, in exchange for freezing the front line in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Zelensky, however, has stressed that he is constitutionally barred from ceding Ukrainian land.
AFP
