Trump says he will meet with Zelenskyy after "very successful day" with Putin
President Donald Trump said he will meet with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday afternoon to discuss an agreement "which would end the war" between Russia and Ukraine.
The Truth Social post came about half a day after Mr. Trump met with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Mr. Trump said the meeting with Putin "went very well." He also said the meeting was followed by a "late night phone call" with Zelenskyy and other European leaders, including Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO. The call took place around 2:40 a.m. ET.
"It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump did not share any details of the agreement. He said Zelenskyy would join him in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon to discuss the proposal. Zelenskyy has previously supported a ceasefire agreement to meet and discuss a peace agreement, but Moscow has rejected the idea. He has also criticized any talks that take place without Ukraine.
"If it all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin," Mr. Trump said. "Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved."
Zelenskyy previously joined Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office in March, but the gathering quickly descended into insults and chaos.
Mr. Trump's meeting with Putin in Anchorage on Friday ended without a ceasefire or peace deal. In brief remarks after the leaders' nearly three-hour meeting, Putin alluded to "unspecified agreements," but no further details were given. Mr. Trump said the meeting had been "extremely productive." Neither leader mentioned an end to the fighting in Ukraine.
The summit, which included a red carpet and military flyover, ended early without a planned luncheon between a broader group of officials. Mr. Trump returned to Washington, D.C. overnight.
In a taped conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity before his departure from Alaska, Mr. Trump said he believes Putin wants the war to end and that the nations are close to a deal, and added that it's "really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done." He did not specify what an agreement might look like.
Zelenskyy has said in the past that he will never agree to any formal Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory or abandon the country's bid for NATO membership. Meanwhile, Putin has been unwavering in his demand to keep all Ukrainian territory that his forces occupy and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, with the long-term goal of returning it to Moscow's sphere of influence.
Mr. Trump has called ending the war in Ukraine and Russia a top priority for his administration. He previously said he would end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office in January. He has criticized both Putin and Zelenskyy for failing to end the conflict. In recent months, he has appeared to become frustrated with Putin, giving several ultimatums and criticizing the Russian leader for the violence against civilians in Ukraine amid ongoing conversations with the U.S.
"I always hang up, [and] say, 'Well, that was a nice phone call,'" Mr. Trump said in July. "And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and I say, 'That's strange.' And after that happens three or four times, you say, the talk doesn't mean anything."
Mr. Trump said Friday that he would not enact economic sanctions he had threatened against Russia if an agreement wasn't reached by early August. He said he "may have to think about" enacting the sanctions "in two weeks or three weeks or something."
There were strikes between the two countries overnight. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the sea of Azov, the Associated Press reported. Ukraine's air force said one ballistic missile and 85 Shahed drones were fired at parts of Sumy, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernihiv, according to the AP, and 61 of the drones were shot down.
A Ukrainian soldier in Sumy told CBS News that "things get even more terrifying on the front line" when there are peace talks.
"They try and seize more territory," the soldier said.
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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