• Zelensky in Washington: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be joined by key European leaders when he meets with Donald Trump today. Trump has previewed the message he’ll deliver: Zelensky must agree to some of Russia’s conditions — including that Ukraine cede Crimea and agree never to join NATO — for the war to end.
• Potential security guarantees: At last week’s summit with Trump, President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow security guarantees for Ukraine and made concessions on “land swaps” as part of a potential peace deal, US envoy Steve Witkoff said. Zelensky suggested such guarantees would need to be stronger than those that “didn’t work” in the past. Russia has yet to mention such agreements.
• Change in tactics: Trump is now focused on securing a peace deal without pursuing a ceasefire due to his progress with Putin, Witkoff said. In pursuing this deal, Trump has backed away from his threat of new sanctions on Moscow, despite calls to impose more economic pressure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can expect a “difficult” meeting with US leader Donald Trump in the White House as the parameters of a peace deal are not all in Kyiv’s favor, an expert said.
“He’s been told in no uncertain terms by Trump… that he is going to have to accept that the territory that’s been lost is mostly lost for the long term,” Robert English, Director of Central European Studies at the University of Southern California, told CNN’s Polo Sandoval.
