President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met today (Tuesday) at the White House for an hour-long, closed-door meeting. The leaders discussed stalled peace talks with Russia and Zelensky’s request for additional American weapons. Zelensky arrived and left the West Wing through a side entrance, avoiding media questions, and the Oval Office meeting was closed to reporters.
1+Relations between President Trump and President Zelensky have improved significantly after a rocky start that included a public verbal argument in February 2025 involving Trump, Zelensky, and Vice President J.D. Vance in front of reporters. Vice President Vance skipped the Trump-Zelensky meeting, traveling instead to the Capitol for a memorial ceremony for the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
Zelensky said after the meeting: “I had a good meeting with United States President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Thank you for everything we are doing together to protect the lives of Ukrainian citizens and achieve peace. At the start of the meeting, I expressed to President Trump our condolences on the death of Senator Lindsey Graham. He was a true friend of Ukraine. We discussed licenses for producing interceptors for the Patriot system and several additional ideas that could help. We also discussed diplomatic efforts, emphasizing the importance of accelerating the political process. Our teams will coordinate continued communication between them. I am grateful to the United States for its steadfast support.”
1+President Trump and President Zelensky are expected to attend Senator Graham’s funeral, which will be held this afternoon (Tuesday) at the National Cathedral in Washington. Graham visited the Ukrainian president in Kyiv the day before his death and worked vigorously with his colleagues in Congress to pass additional sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.