A frantic and high-stakes diplomatic ballet is unfolding across the Atlantic, as Ukraine’s European allies scramble to form a united front ahead of a pivotal White House meeting.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is heading to Washington on Monday, summoned by Donald Trump just days after the US President’s secretive and inconclusive summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The air is thick with anxiety, as the fate of Ukraine hangs in the balance.
In a clear sign of the urgency, France announced that the “Coalition of the Willing”—Ukraine’s key European backers—will hold an emergency video call on Sunday to coordinate their strategy.
The call comes as Zelenskiy and his allies continue to push for a trilateral summit with Putin, a goal that seems increasingly distant as the Russian leader shows no sign of softening his hardline stance to end the war, now grinding through its fourth year.
The shadow of the Alaska summit
The current whirlwind was set in motion by Friday’s marathon meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska. While Trump publicly called the talks “productive,” they failed to produce any clear path to peace.
Instead, the summit ended with Trump shifting the burden of resolution squarely onto Kyiv.
After speaking with the US president on Saturday, Zelenskiy remained resolute. “Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace,” he said in a social media post on X.
We had a long and substantive conversation with @POTUS. We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump.
Ukraine reaffirms
Trump, in his own Truth Social post, confirmed the Washington visit and dangled the possibility of a three-way meeting “if all works out.”
But behind the diplomatic language, a stark and uncompromising message was delivered.
According to people familiar with the matter, Trump conveyed to his allies that Putin’s core demand remains unchanged: he still wants Kyiv to cede control of the entire Donbas region.
In return, Russia would halt its advances in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, effectively freezing the current battle lines. It is a price Zelenskiy has repeatedly and vehemently refused to pay.
An anxious alliance on a tightrope
The details emerging from the summit have done little to soothe the nerves of European officials, who are now walking a diplomatic tightrope.
Publicly, they are projecting strength and unity. In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and others declared that it will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory.
“International borders must not be changed by force,” the statement read, adding that “Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO.”
Privately, however, there is profound concern that Trump, driven by his desire for a deal, will now pressure Zelenskiy to make devastating territorial concessions.
This fear is compounded by the historically uneasy relationship between the two leaders; their last Oval Office meeting in February reportedly descended into a shouting match that led to a temporary pause in US military aid.
“President Trump’s resolve to get a peace deal is vital,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. “But the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon.”
She noted that Putin continues to drag out negotiations and “left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing.”
War amidst the words of peace
The grim reality of that killing served as a brutal backdrop to the weekend’s diplomacy. As world leaders spoke of peace, Russia unleashed a barrage of 85 drones and a ballistic missile against Ukrainian territory overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.
The attack underscored Moscow’s intent to negotiate from a position of unrelenting force, a fact Zelenskiy highlighted with bitter irony.
“On the day of negotiations, the Russians are killing as well. And that speaks volumes,” he posted on X.
On the day of negotiations, the Russians are killing as well. And that speaks volumes. Recently, weʼve discussed with the U.S. and Europeans what can truly work. Everyone needs a just end to the war. Ukraine is ready to work as productively as possible to bring the war to an end,
Now, with the weight of his allies’ hopes and fears on his shoulders, he flies to Washington to face a US president who has made it clear he wants one thing above all else: a deal.
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