European Leaders to Join Zelensky in Washington for Talks With Trump on Ukraine Peace, Security Guarantees

European and NATO leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday for high-stakes talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and firming up potential U.S. security guarantees.

The move comes after Zelensky was excluded from Trump’s Friday summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the European Union say their presence at the White House is meant to present a united front and prevent a repeat of February’s tense Oval Office clash between Trump and Zelensky.

“The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt,” said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand. “It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump.”

At the Alaska summit, Putin signaled for the first time that Russia could accept NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace deal, according to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who called the shift “game-changing.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe will press Trump to endorse a plan to strengthen Ukraine’s military with training, weapons, and long-term financing. The plan also envisions several thousand allied troops stationed in Ukraine away from the front lines as a deterrent against future Russian aggression.

“We need a credible format for the Ukrainian army,” Macron said, adding that Europe and the U.S. must agree on “who is ready to do what.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Trump’s openness to Article 5–like guarantees but stressed that “the coalition of the willing” is prepared to contribute as well.

Joining Macron and von der Leyen in Washington will be British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Analysts say European leaders want to prevent Ukraine from being pressured into a settlement on Putin’s terms, particularly his demand that Kyiv be barred from NATO and the EU. But they also warn that a large European presence could backfire. “The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump,” said Neil Melvin of the Royal United Services Institute.

Zelensky, speaking in Brussels on Sunday, underscored that Ukraine’s strongest guarantee remains its own army, backed by European financing and U.S. weapons. He rejected Trump’s preference for negotiating a full peace deal over a ceasefire, saying, “It’s impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.”