Ukraine war latest: Pressure on Putin as ‘10 European nations’ offer ground troops

After Friday’s red carpet love-in with Russian president Vladimir Putin, President Trump sat down with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky today at the Oval Office to talk peace and the world hoped it would go better than the last White House meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine.

Before meeting with Zelensky, or any other world leaders in town for the event, Trump was already telling reporters that peace could come “almost immediately” if Zelensky ditched NATO and gifted Putin Crimea – the diplomatic equivalent of telling someone to end a mugging by handing over their wallet and the deed to their house.

Zelensky, of course, is a man in the awkward position of being the democratically elected leader of the country Trump’s friend is currently trying to dismantle. And the body language of today’s meeting told its own story: gone were the grinning asides and admiring jokes, replaced with the brittle civility of a man forced to pose with the victim while still swooning over the perpetrator.

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has begun making arrangements for a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A new poll shows that more than half of Americans want the U.S. to be “involved” in peace negotiations between the two countries.

A YouGov poll, released Tuesday, shows that 62 percent of Americans say the U.S. should be involved in peace talks, with 24 percent saying the U.S. should be “very” involved, while 37 percent say it should be “somewhat” involved. By contrast, only 22 percent say the country should not be involved.

On Monday, Trump met with Zelensky and a group of European leaders at the White House, days after meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The poll also revealed that 41 percent of Americans “strongly or somewhat approve” of Trump’s recent meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia to discuss the war, while 38 percent disapprove.

Similarly, 35 percent of Americans said they approve of how Trump is handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while 45 percent disapprove.

World leaders gathered in Washington on Monday for a summit billed as a potential turning point in efforts to end the most significant ground war in Europe since the Second World War.

In the Oval Office, Donald Trump hosted Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and senior European figures to thrash out what security guarantees for Ukraine might look like if a peace deal with Russia can be reached.

The meeting was described as “historic” by Sir Keir Starmer, who has emerged as one of the driving forces behind Europe’s response.

Tom Watling has the story.

On Tuesday evening, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Sean Hannity on Fox News that President Donald Trump is a “legend” when it comes to dealmaking.

Witkoff made the remark during a discussion about the talks he has held over the past week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the leaders of European allied nations.

However, Americans might need more convincing, given the results of the latest Economist/YouGov poll.

Donald Trump claims to have ended six wars in six months and has been angling for a Nobel Peace Prize. Americans are less convinced of his diplomatic prowess. In February, his net approval rating—the share who approve, less the share who disapprove—for foreign policy was 2. It has since fallen steadily. In this week’s survey—which began on the day that Mr Trump met Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, in Alaska and ended on the day Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, visited the White House—it was -14. More Americans think Mr Trump is an ineffective negotiator with foreign leaders than believe he is an effective one. Just 32% said that the American and Russian presidents made at least some progress towards ending the war. Mr Trump’s net approval rating for his handling of the Ukraine-Russia conflict is -10.

The Ukrainian president made the pledge during talks with his US counterpart at the White House, hastily convened after President Trump’s encounter with Putin last Friday.

When Mr Trump suggested that all three leaders could gather if Monday night’s talks went well, Mr Zelensky added: “We are ready for trilateral.”

Sam Kiley and Andrew Feinberg filed this report on Monday’s meeting.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

Alex Croft has the story.

Troops launched 270 drones and 10 missiles at central Ukraine in the latest attack, hitting key parts of the country’s energy infrastructure shortly after the US and Ukrainian presidents concluded talks at the White House

Bryony Gooch filed this report earlier today.