Ukraine: US envoy 'hopeful' ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy talks

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organizations in Vienna, said that Russia agrees that any Ukraine peace deal must provide security guarantees to Kyiv.

But he added that his country also needs credible security assurances.

"Russia agrees with that. But it has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees," said Ulyanov. 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised the "historic decision" made by the Trump administration to guarantee Ukraine's security.

Zelenskyy made the remarks in a post on social media, on the eve of his meeting with Donald Trump and several European leaders in Washington on Monday.

Trump met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. During their meeting, White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Russia had made "concessions," including agreeing that the US could provide NATO-like protection to Ukraine.

"This is a historic decision that the United States is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine. Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president's message was published after he had spoken with the leaders of his country's European allies, including France, the UK and Germany.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will be joined by a host of key European leaders when he meets with US President Trump at the White House. But will they be able to influence Trump and make sure the European interests are heard?

Emmanuel Macron said European leaders would ask Donald Trump to what extent the US will support Ukraine's security guarantees when they meet in Washington DC on Monday.

Ukraine and its European allies have insisted that any peace deal to end the war be underpinned by a military deterrent.

Earlier on Sunday, White House envoy Steve Witkoff had said that Russia had agreed that the US could provide Ukraine with security guarantees that are similar to NATO's commitment to defending any member that is attacked.

But in his comments to reporters outside his official summer residence in Bregancon, the French leader also said he does not think Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in ending the war.

"Do I think Putin wants peace? I think the answer is no," Macron said. 

"There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the US, Europe and Ukraine to present a united front during Monday's talks between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Macron was speaking after Kyiv's European allies held a meeting Sunday of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, an initiative led by the UK and France.

"If we show weakness today in front of Russia, we are laying the ground for future conflicts," Macron said.

Macron said "our will is to present a united front between Europeans and Ukrainians" and to ask the Americans "to what extent" they are ready to contribute to the security guarantees that would be offered to Ukraine in a peace agreement.

Macron also reiterated European leaders' insistence that no decisions be taken on Ukraine without the participation of Ukrainian authorities.

Similarly, the French leader said no decisions on Europe's security could be made without the input of European nations.

Ukraine will not give up any territory Russia hasn't yet occupied, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said standing alongside the EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. 

He seemed to be quashing Russian hopes of occupying more of Ukraine before it even agrees to a ceasefire and discusses lasting peace. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told US President Donald Trump that one of the conditions for freezing the frontlines – that is not occupying anymore Ukrainian land, was, well, to occupy some more of it. 

According to a report in the Financial Times, Putin proposed to Trump that Ukraine withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region. In return, Moscow would stop its incursions in the rest of the country. 

But Zelenskyy isn't having it. 

He said Russia is still unsuccessful in the Donetsk region, even after trying to occupy it for 12 years, and that the constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible, "to give up territory or trade land." 

But he also sought clarity on the supposed future role of his allies in Europe, as well as the US.

The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU will continue to support Ukraine's path to its membership in the European Union. "This in itself is also a security guarantee," she added. 

Even if Ukraine doesn't become a NATO member, the EU membership also offers similar guarantees, albeit minus the US's military might.  

The Mutual Defense Clause in the EU treaty states that if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, "the other member states have an obligation to aid and assist it by all the means in their power." 

A group of EU leaders concluded their Coalition of the Willing meeting on Sunday with a statement stressing their "unity in supporting Ukraine toward a just and lasting peace."

The meeting took place ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.

"Discussions focused on key matters such as the need to stop the killing in Ukraine, the commitment to maintain full pressure against Russia via sanctions, the principle that it is for Ukraine to take decisions on its territory and the crucial topic of strong security guarantees that protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests," the EU statement read.

Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, stressed the need to respect Ukraine's "sovereign right to determine its conditions for peace."

"We welcome the United States’ willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine — to deter future Russian aggression and to ensure, together, a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," Costa said. "Europe stands ready to do its part."

Russia has not indicated backing for a three-way summit with Ukraine and the United States floated by Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"So far, Russia gives no sign that the trilateral will happen and if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow," Zelenskyy said in Brussels in a joint press conference with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

The Ukrainian leader went on to say that the current front lines in his country's war against Russia should be the basis for peace talks.

"We need real negotiations, which means we can start where the front line is now," Zelenskyy said, adding that European leaders supported this.

He reiterated his position that it was necessary to establish a ceasefire to then negotiate a final deal.

Senior US envoy Steve Witkoff said he was "hopeful" of a "productive meeting" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday, as Washington pushes for an end to the Ukraine war without first securing a ceasefire.

"I'm hopeful that we have a productive meeting on Monday, we get to real consensus, we're able to come back to the Russians and push this peace deal forward and get it done," Witkoff told US broadcaster CNN.

The envoy said Russia made "some concessions" during the Alaska summit over five Ukrainian regions central to Moscow's objectives, in an apparent reference to the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea regions.

Witkoff said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed that the US "could offer Article 5-like protection" to Ukraine, referring to NATO's commitment to defend any member who comes under attack.

The envoy said it was the first time he had heard the Russian leader agree to that, describing the security guarantees agreed as "game-changing."

He also defended US President Donald Trump's decision to abandon his push for Russia to agree to an immediate ceasefire, saying the president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made.

"We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal," Witkoff said.

Trump, meanwhile, wrote on his Truth Social platform that there had been "big progress" on Russia, without elaborating.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS that both sides would need to make concessions if a peace deal were to be concluded.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine must be free to defend itself and seek support from any country it chooses, without interference or veto from Russia.

"There can be no limitations on Ukrainian armed forces: be it cooperation with other third countries or assistance from other third countries," von der Leyen told a news conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

She spoke just before a video call with other leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, a loose group of countries that have supported Kyiv over Russia's full-scale invasion.

"As I've often said, Ukraine must become a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders," von der Leyen added.

The Commission chief said she welcomed Washington's willingness to contribute to NATO security guarantees for Ukraine. She said the coalition, including the EU, is "ready to do its share."

The coalition is holding talks on Sunday, ahead of Zelenskyy's meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. Several European leaders are set to join him in Washington DC to ensure Europe's voice is heard in the peace negotiations.

Russian forces shot down 300 Ukrainian drones and struck storage sites for Sapsan missiles, Russia's Defense Ministry and war bloggers said.

The ministry said Russian troops had sealed better positions in the eastern Donetsk region near the settlement of Zolotyi Kolodyaz, though pro-Ukrainian maps showed that Ukraine's forces had contained the Russian advance.

Moscow said warplanes, drones and missiles had been used to strike Ukrainian storage sites for Sapsan missiles across the country.

"Four guided aerial bombs and 300 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by air defense systems," the ministry said.

Moscow said many of the drones fired by Kyiv targeted border regions but also over the Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow, hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine. 

The acting governor of the border Kursk region, Alexander Khinstein, said a Ukrainian drone attack killed a man in his car.

Meanwhile, Kyiv's air force said Russia attacked Ukraine with 60 Iranian-made Shahed and other drones as well as an Iskander missile. 

Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said Russian attacks killed five people in the area on Saturday. 

Russia briefed Turkey and Hungary on Friday's Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, which failed to secure a plan to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held calls with his Turkish and Hungarian counterparts on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Turkey has tried to maintain open diplomatic channels with both sides since Russia's full-scale invasion, positioning itself as a NATO member, a partner to both Moscow and Kyiv and a potential mediator.

Hungary has kept close ties with Russia throughout the war, often opposing EU sanctions and continuing energy cooperation with Moscow, and drawing criticism from Western allies of Kyiv.

Following the call, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he hoped for a peaceful settlement to the 3-1/2-year-old conflict.

"A durable resolution to the conflict is in our interest, as well as for peace and security to return to Central Europe," he said in a Facebook post.

Several European leaders are due to hold a video call on the Ukraine war, ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's talks with US President Donald Trump next week.

Zelenskyy is in Brussels to participate in a video conference hosted by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden will also attend the Coalition of the Willing talks virtually.

The group is a loose team of nations backing Kyiv against Russia's full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.

European Union states are wary of being sidelined in Trump's peace summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

EU states have been pushing to ensure that Kyiv's views are not excluded from the US-Russia dialogue, which could shape Europe's long-term security.

Several European leaders are due to accompany Zelenskyy to his White House talks on Monday.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz will accompany Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for peace talks with US President Donald Trump, the German government said Sunday.

The talks, in Washington DC on Monday, will also be attended by other European leaders, including the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU's executive arm.

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer,  NATO chief Mark Rutte and Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni will also travel to Washington.

"The talks will address, among other things, security guarantees, territorial issues, and continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. This includes maintaining pressure on sanctions," the German government said.

The talks follow a much-anticipated summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, aimed at bringing the war to an end.

Despite Trump's warm welcome for the Kremlin leader, the meeting produced no breakthrough on halting the war.