Zelensky and European leaders in Washington today: "Some Russian demands are unacceptable."

"It's an important day at the White House. I've never had so many European leaders at the same time. It's a great honor for me to host them," US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth profile a few hours before meeting with European leaders and President Zelensky. A subsequent post also added: "Fake news will say it's a great loss for President Trump to host so many great European leaders in our beautiful White House. In reality, it's a great honor for America."

"Ukrainian President Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wishes, or he can continue to fight," US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth profile a few hours after meeting with key European leaders and the Ukrainian president himself. "Remember how it all began," Trump added. "You can't go back on Crimea being given to Obama (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and you can't join NATO with Ukraine. Some things never change."

"The fake news has been going on for three days saying that I suffered a 'serious defeat' by allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a major summit in the United States. In reality, he would have wanted to hold the meeting anywhere but the United States, and the fake news knows it." Donald Trump, via Truth, once again attacks the media for spreading "fake news" and a misinterpretation of the outcome of the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. For Trump, the Anchorage meeting "was a major point of contention! If we had held the summit elsewhere, the Democrat-run and -controlled media would have said what a terrible thing it was."

Ukrainian authorities reported that 13 people were injured in Russian strikes on Kharkiv and the Sumy region, while Volodymyr Zelensky and Kiev's allies are expected in Washington for talks on resolving the conflict. Shortly after midnight, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian strikes in the large city of Kharkiv (in the east), near the border, as well as in the Sumy region (in the northeast), bordering Russia. "The number of injured has risen to 11," Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov wrote on Telegram, after the Interior Ministry had initially reported eight injuries. In Sumy, the head of the regional military administration, Oleg Grygorov, stated in two separate messages that the Russian strikes, first with a bomb and then with a drone, injured two people: "a 57-year-old woman (...) in non-serious condition" and "a 43-year-old driver (...) taken to the hospital."

Russian forces are "massively attacking the city of Odessa with Shahed attack drones from multiple sides simultaneously," RBC-Ukraine reported, citing the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov, and Odessa OVA head Oleg Kiper.

"A Russian attack hit an apartment building in the city of Kharkiv with a ballistic missile, and there are casualties." Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported this on Telegram, as reported by Ukrinform. The same newspaper, citing Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov, reported that a Russian missile also hit civilian infrastructure in the Sumy region, but there were no reports of casualties. "The enemy launched a missile attack on civilian infrastructure in the Sumy community, reportedly using a ballistic missile," the governor reported on Telegram, urging residents to remain in safe places as the threat remains.

Several European leaders will also be in Washington today, including Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine, in light of the August summit in Alaska between Trump and Vladimir Putin . Representing Europe will be Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni , European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen , French President Emmanuel Macron , German Chancellor Friedrich Merz , Finnish President Alexander Stubb , UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer , and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte .

"Great progress with Russia. Stay tuned!" Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth. The impression is that the Europeans are trying to shield Zelensky from the pressure to ensure the meeting goes better than the previous one. His last visit to the White House, in fact, was on February 28, when a heated exchange erupted in the Oval Office with Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance, with the allies verbally attacking the Ukrainian president. However, the Europeans will be in Washington "not only to accompany Zelensky, but also to defend the interests of Europeans," Emmanuel Macron emphasized at the end of a nearly two-hour video conference meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing, emphasizing that Europe's security is at stake.

According to Bild, Trump will initially meet only with Zelensky, and then the Europeans will join. Among the key issues to be resolved is the issue of security guarantees for Kiev in the event of a peace agreement, after the US expressed its willingness to participate in these guarantees alongside Europe. This is all the more true given that US special envoy Steve Witkoff revealed to CNN in the last few hours that Putin, for the first time, at the Anchorage summit agreed that the United States and Europe could offer Ukraine a security guarantee similar to that required for NATO under Article 5. The Europeans, in particular, will ask Trump "to what extent" he intends to participate in the security guarantees, "who is willing to do what," Macron explained, because "the Ukrainians cannot accept mere theoretical commitments."

The coalition of the willing is a group of countries willing to contribute to monitoring and supporting any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. Demonstrating Europe's renewed support for Kyiv, Zelensky also participated in their video call meeting, joining from Brussels along with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after a bilateral meeting between the two. The EU executive itself summarized the points that emerged from the meeting of the willing: "the need to end the killings in Ukraine, the commitment to maintaining maximum pressure on Russia through sanctions, the principle that Ukraine is responsible for making decisions on its own territory, and the crucial issue of robust security guarantees that protect the vital interests of Ukraine and Europe." "Ukraine must become an indigestible steel hedgehog for potential invaders," von der Leyen had stated shortly before. One thing must be clear, however: the aggressor is Putin, who does not want peace but "the capitulation of Ukraine," Macron said.

Following the Financial Times' revelation that Putin, in Alaska, had demanded that Trump withdraw Ukrainian forces from the Donetsk region as a condition for ending the war, both Zelensky and the Europeans—from von der Leyen to Meloni to Zelensky—reiterated that such decisions cannot be made without Kiev. "International borders cannot be changed by force," von der Leyen stated alongside the Ukrainian leader. The latter, for his part, ruled out giving up territory, stating that "Ukraine's Constitution makes it impossible to cede or exchange land."

"Because the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. So far, Russia has given no sign that this will happen, and if Russia refuses, new sanctions will have to follow," he said. The ceasefire option—which Trump backtracked on after his meeting with Putin, instead directly calling a peace agreement a priority—is currently being discussed only by Zelensky, who called it "necessary" to work quickly towards an agreement. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has not completely ruled it out. He also assured that, "if there is no peace agreement, if there is no end to this war, the president has been clear, there will be consequences."

The Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) announced the arrest of a Kazakh officer serving at the military attaché's office in Warsaw. According to authorities, the man, operating under diplomatic cover, was gathering sensitive information for Russia. A court ordered his pre-trial detention for three months. The coordinator of the special services, Tomasz Siemoniak, confirmed that this was "a case of espionage for the benefit of foreign powers." The Kazakh Ministry of Defense confirmed the arrest, explaining that the diplomat was an employee of its military office in Poland and that contacts with Warsaw are underway to provide him with legal assistance.

According to Ukrainian and Polish media, the arrested man is Anuar Kairatuly Bakibay, 37, nephew of the Kazakh military attaché in Kiev, who has previously been suspected of intelligence activities for Moscow.

"I am grateful to all the participants in the Coalition of the Willing talks on the eve of the meeting in Washington with President Trump. It was very useful," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on x, emphasizing that "there is clear support for Ukraine's independence and sovereignty." "Everyone agreed that the borders should not be changed by force, everyone supports the idea that key issues should be resolved with the participation of Ukraine in the trilateral format—Ukraine, the US, and the Russian leader," the Ukrainian president added. "We also, of course, discussed how to stop the killings as quickly as possible," he concluded. "We are working toward a shared vision of a truly fair, swift, and effective peace agreement."

There will be no peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia "unless both sides make concessions." Marco Rubio told ABC News, responding to a question about whether Vladimir Putin made any concessions in his meeting with Donald Trump, to which the Secretary of State responded. "I wouldn't talk about it here on television," Rubio replied, emphasizing that this "would make an agreement on these things more difficult and less likely." "You can't have a peace agreement unless both sides make concessions. That's a fact, it's practically true in any negotiation," he reiterated. "Otherwise, it would be called surrender, and neither side intends to surrender, so both sides have to make concessions."

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking after the Coalition of the Willing meeting, reiterated his hope for a "solid and lasting" peace. "In an extremely serious context," he declared on television, "an important moment is unfolding for the conflict and for Ukraine's security." In this context, " the objective is simple: to remember what unites Ukraine, Europe, and the United States," pointing to "an aggressor," namely Russia. "There can be no territorial discussions on Ukraine without the Ukrainian leadership," Macron, one of the promoters of the Willing, emphasized. "All the work done within the Coalition of the Willing is for a just and lasting peace, and there can be no divisions on this between the United States, Ukraine, and Europe.

At the recently concluded meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, held this afternoon via video conference, "discussions focused on key issues such as the need to end the killings in Ukraine , the commitment to maintaining maximum pressure on Russia through sanctions , the principle that Ukraine is responsible for making decisions on its own territory , and the crucial issue of robust security guarantees that protect the vital interests of Ukraine and Europe." This was announced by the EU Commission. In today's video call, "the leaders had a positive exchange to coordinate ahead of tomorrow's meeting with President Trump," who will receive Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington following the mid-August summit in Alaska between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Zelensky himself also participated in the meeting of the willing, joining the conversation from Brussels along with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a joint press conference in Brussels, shortly before the start of the video conference of the Coalition of the Willing, in which both will participate.

Von der Leyen reiterated the importance of robust security guarantees to protect both Ukraine and Europe's vital security interests: "Ukraine must be able to maintain its sovereignty and territorial integrity," and "there can be no restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian armed forces, including military cooperation with third countries. Ukraine must become a steel hedgehog that potential aggressors cannot stomach." She added that the European Union welcomes the proposal for security guarantees for Ukraine, which are consistent with Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

He emphasized that international borders cannot be changed by force. "These decisions can be made by Ukraine and no one else. And these decisions cannot be made without Ukraine at the negotiating table." He finally assured that Europe will continue its sanctions drive: "We are accelerating preparations for the 19th package, which should be adopted in early September."

Zelensky referred to Putin's demands for a halt to hostilities: "If the list is as long as we've heard, it will take some time to go through them all. This cannot be done under military pressure. It is therefore necessary to seek a ceasefire and work quickly towards a final agreement. We will discuss this in Washington."

"We need real negotiations that can begin where the front line is now," he continued. "The line of contact is the best place for negotiations, and the Europeans support it. Russia has not yet achieved success in the Donetsk region. Putin has not managed to seize it for 12 years. And Ukraine's Constitution prohibits giving up its territories."

Regarding the possibility of addressing these issues in a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin, Zelensky noted that Moscow "has not yet given any signs that a trilateral meeting will take place. If Russia refuses, new sanctions should follow. It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees to Ukraine."

"We need guarantees to function in practice, just like Article 5 of the NATO Charter," the Ukrainian president finally emphasized, specifying that EU membership also guarantees security.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday welcomed US President Donald Trump's proposal to offer Ukraine NATO-style security guarantees. "We welcome President Trump's willingness to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, similar to Article 5," she said during a press conference in Brussels, alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Commission president also reiterated that Ukraine must be able to maintain its territorial integrity and stated that the term "ceasefire" is less important than the need to stop the killings: "What matters is the effect. And the effect must be to stop the killings. So it's not the term itself, but the content that matters. It's crucial to organize a trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine, the Presidents of the United States, and the Presidents of Russia as soon as possible."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels for a meeting with EU Executive President Ursula von der Leyen, before a videoconference meeting with the Coalition of the Willing and a trip to Washington for a meeting tomorrow with US President Donald Trump.

Moscow's proposals for Ukraine, discussed in Alaska by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump , include not only demanding that Kiev cede its eastern territories but also granting official status to the Russian language . Among other things, Moscow is trying to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, although Putin appears to have been open to Ukraine receiving some security guarantees, Reuters sources said, citing a report on his website.

The agency's interlocutors stated that their knowledge of Putin's proposals is largely based on discussions between the leaders of Europe, the United States, and Ukraine, and emphasized that it is not complete. However, Reuters still cites several points. For example, Putin's proposal excludes a ceasefire until a peace agreement is reached . The agency was also told that Putin expects at least some sanctions against Russia to be lifted. This would also coincide with other sources that have emerged in Russian opposition media. This comes ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's trip to Washington on Monday to discuss with Trump a possible solution to the war, which Putin unleashed on February 24, 2022.

According to Russia, Kiev should completely withdraw its troops from the Donetsk and Lughansk regions in exchange for Moscow's commitment to freezing the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions . According to some sources, Russia is ready to return relatively small areas of Ukrainian territory it has occupied in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The publication's sources claim that the Russian leader has also called for at least formal recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea (unilaterally annexed in 2014). It is unclear whether this means recognition by the United States government or, for example, by all Western powers and Ukraine.