.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he had a “good” phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on security guarantees for Ukraine, as the war with Russia enters its fourth year.

In remarks at the White House alongside Trump and European leaders, Zelenskyy said that security guarantees for Ukraine remain at the heart of his country’s fight for survival and future independence. “The first one is security guarantees. And we are very happy with President [Trump], that all the leaders are here, and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and European countries,” Zelenskyy said. “The second one is the readiness from Washington to provide strong signals” was “very important,” though he did not detail what that could entail.

Trump stressed the importance of security but said that Europe has the primary responsibility. The war, he said, could not be resolved without having “very tough” talks about the status of territory. “We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure,” Trump said. “We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center.”

Meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy, European Leaders at the White House

Western leaders gathered in Washington on Monday for the first face-to-face meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group since Russia’s invasion two years ago. The talks aimed to coordinate efforts to provide military and financial aid to Ukraine as a brutal battle for control of the Donbas unfolds.

But the meeting of Western leaders at the White House highlighted stark differences in approach, with Trump showing a willingness to accept territorial compromises even as Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out ceding sovereignty or international borders.

Sanctions, Ceasefire, NATO

Leaders in Washington have been discussing security guarantees for Ukraine, as U.S. lawmakers have continued to push the administration for economic measures against Russia and its trading partners.

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that the Trump administration should target the finances of countries that are still buying Russian oil. He is co-sponsoring a bill that would allow Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on those countries.

“My advice to President Trump and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] is, you’ve got to convince Putin that if this war doesn’t end justly and honorably with Ukraine making concessions also, we’re going to destroy the Russian economy,” Graham said on Fox News. He singled out China as the most important actor that can pressure Putin. “The second most important person on the planet to end this war is President Xi in China,” Graham said. He suggested Washington “send China a letter that says, ‘Hey, you better get involved, get rid of your oil, get with the program, or you’re going to pay a heavy price.’”

Trump has shown himself willing to use tariffs as a weapon and announced in August a 50 percent tariff on India in part over its purchase of Russian oil. Graham suggested that the threat of a similar move against China could change the nature of the conflict “almost overnight.”

The European Union is expected to unveil its 19th round of sanctions against Moscow later this month. As we’ve reported previously, the latest EU sanctions are aimed at further restricting Russia’s energy revenue, banking, and military-industrial capabilities while closing off some loopholes for sanctions evasion. Since the start of its invasion in February 2022, Russia has been sanctioned to a greater degree than Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela, making it the most sanctioned country in modern history.

Sanctions were not the only issue of contention in Washington, as European leaders also pressed Trump on the need for a ceasefire before negotiations could begin. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the recent six-point peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is not worth the paper it was printed on until a temporary halt to fighting is achieved to give peace talks some credibility. “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” Merz said. Trump disagreed with Merz’s assessment, pointing to several of the six agreements that he has claimed credit for brokering in recent months that did not involve a ceasefire. “You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild,” Trump said, before conceding that the main value of a ceasefire is stopping civilian deaths.

Alexander Stubb, the Finnish president since March 2024, also attended the White House discussions. Stubb has been openly skeptical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to respect any ceasefire and warned that Finland’s 800-mile border with Russia and its own painful historical experience with the Russian state meant that his country was in the same camp as Poland and the Baltic states. “If I look at the silver lining of where we stand right now, we found a solution in 1944, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to find a solution in 2025 to end Russia’s war of aggression,” Stubb, who is widely seen as Trump’s closest European interlocutor, told reporters at the White House. Stubb said he had had an “important conversation” with Trump.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump wrote. “The Obama administration gave him, or gave Russia, Crimea with no fight whatsoever,” more than a decade ago, Trump continued. “NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE,” Trump wrote, “must remain the ultimate red line.”