Updated August 16, 2025 at 6:56 AM EDT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – President Trump said he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday to talk about how to end Russia's war on Ukraine, a follow-up meeting to Trump's summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin that failed to yield a ceasefire.
On Saturday, Trump said on social media that he had spoken with Zelenskyy and European leaders as he flew back to Washington from Alaska.
"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," Trump said in his post.
Trump's summit with Putin — thrown together just a week after it was first announced — was marked by cinematic flourishes without concrete deliverables.
"There were many, many points that we agreed on. Most of them, I would say a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway," Trump said in uncharacteristically short remarks after the meeting, without elaborating on the details.
Ahead of the summit, he'd said he wanted to walk away with a ceasefire — although occasionally in the days leading up to the meeting, he also sought to lower expectations by saying it was just about feeling things out, or setting the table for a second meeting.
The reactions from leaders and legislators worldwide — with the notable exception of those in Russia —occasionally expressed a measure of hope, but often disappointment too.
Sen. Graham says new sanctions can wait
Trump had threatened consequences for Russia if the talks failed to advance peace, but after the summit he told Fox News that they were off the table for the time being.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. – the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that Trump had "rolled out a red carpet and warmly greeted a murderous dictator on American soil" and said she thought the Senate should push to pass sanctions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has worked on a new sanctions proposal, suggested he was willing to give talks more time.
"If there's a trilateral meeting between President @realdonaldtrump, President Zelensky and Putin, then I am cautiously optimistic that this war will end well before Christmas," he wrote on X. "If the meeting doesn't happen, I think President Trump may deliver severe consequences to Putin and those who buy his oil and gas."
Trump passes ball to Ukraine, and Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy, who was left out of the Alaska talks, said he will meet Trump in Washington on Monday to discuss next steps toward ending the war.
But the reaction from lawmakers in Kyiv was far from enthusiastic.
"It seems Putin has bought himself more time," Oleksiy Honcharenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker wrote on Telegram. "No cease-fire or any kind of de-escalation has been agreed upon."
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said he had accepted Trump's invitation to Washington on Monday, "to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war."
He went on to emphasize the importance of European involvement to ensure reliable security guarantees alongside the U.S., noting "positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine's security."
He added that Ukraine continues to coordinate with all partners and thanked everyone assisting in the effort.
Reaction among Russia delegation
At a time when President Putin is unable to visit more than 100 nations, out of fear he could be arrested thanks to warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the trip to Alaska highlighted American exceptionalism. The United States is not party to the treaties governing the ICC.
U.S. leaders have repeatedly criticized the court's actions, and have recently sanctioned officials there, due to its actions against Israel. The summit thus provided an opening for the Russian leader to once again stand on a global stage with another world leader. He spoke at length during the press conference with Trump, referencing an agreement the two men had made that would "pave the path towards peace in Ukraine" — without, again, disclosing any details.
"We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won't throw a wrench in the works," Putin added, a jab at the role many European leaders have played in supporting Zelenskyy in his dealings with the Trump White House in recent months.
He said he hoped European leaders would "not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress."
Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who had travelled to Alaska too, described the meeting between Trump and Putin as "very positive," and explained that there had been no need for either leader to field questions from the small army of assembled journalists, because their statements had been "exhaustive," according to state-controlled RIA Novosti.
The Russian spokesman said the Alaska conversation could help the two men "confidently move forward together" along a path that would find options for peace.
Europeans remain key to a ceasefire
In Europe, where leaders had worked hard in recent days to strengthen Ukraine's diplomatic position in the talks, despite Zelenskyy's absence, there was a degree of anger among lawmakers in some countries.
Marko Mihkelson, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, wrote on social media that the meeting "was no surprise. Putin wanted to humiliate the US — and he succeeded."
He said Trump needed to place "real pressure on Russia" if he wanted to transform a weak hand into a winning one.
The comments by Putin about Europe's potential to block progress consisted of "gaslighting and veiled threats," wrote Lithuania's defense minister Dovile Sakaliene on X, noting that in the hours before the meeting, Russian forces had continued to "bomb civilians in Ukraine.
"The Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky expressed gratitude for Trump's attempts to forge a peace deal, but also warned about propaganda efforts by the Kremlin. "The problem is Russian imperialism," he wrote on X. "If Putin were serious about peace talks, he would not have been attacking Ukraine all day."
Copyright 2025 NPR
