UKRAINIAN LEADER VOLODYMYR Zelenskyy will head to Washington on Monday to discuss “ending the killing and the war” with US President Donald Trump, he announced today.

Zelenskyy said so after holding a call with Trump, during which the US leader informed him about the “main points” of his talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

“On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war,” Zelenskyy said.

“I am grateful for the invitation.”

Zelenskyy said he had a “long and substantive conversation with Trump”, which began as a one-on-one talk.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders later joined the call, officials said.

The European leaders said they were ready to intensify sanctions against Russia after Trump briefed them on the summit.

Tánaiste Simon Harris said that he was “encouraged” by Trump’s commitment to meet with Zelenskyy.

“We must remember that Russia remains the aggressor in this conflict, and can end its aggression at any time. President Zelenskyy and his government must be involved in all decisions on how the conflict ends,” Harris said, adding that Ireland will continue to work with EU partners to achieve peace.

“Ireland, with our EU partners, stands ready to impose additional sanctions and maintain firm and coordinated pressure on Russia,” he said.

“We must never forget the impact of this war on the people of Ukraine, their enormous suffering, and the generational scars that this war will leave, particularly on so many young people.”

Trump remained upbeat, calling the summit “a great and very successful day in Alaska!” in a Truth Social post. The US president added that European leaders had backed his plan for a new summit.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he added.

The Washington meeting is set to take place three days after Trump’s talks with Putin in Alaska ended with no ceasefire announcement or apparent breakthrough to end Moscow’s more than three-year-long invasion.

Today, the day after the US-Russia summit, Zelenskyy called for Kyiv’s European allies to be involved at “every stage” of talks.

He also reiterated that he would be ready for a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin — something that Kyiv has been pushing for but which the Kremlin has been resisting.

“Ukraine emphasises that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump confirmed Monday’s meeting with Zelenskyy and said he hoped a Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy summit would follow. “Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved,” Trump commented.

Before the summit, Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire.

When asked about this by Fox News after the talks, Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now”.

Putin has repeatedly said only a full peace deal could halt the war he ordered in February 2022, which has left tens of thousands dead and widespread destruction in Ukraine.

Putin again spoke of addressing the “root causes” of the conflict at the summit and some analysts said Trump may have conceded ground.

The Europeans, who had been wary of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks today and afterwards expressed support for a new summit.

Their statement did not mention a ceasefire, just the need for more action to force Russia into “a just and lasting peace”.

“As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.

The war went on despite the summit. Ukraine announced Saturday that Russia launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night. Russia said it had taken two more villages in Ukraine.

Trump and Putin emerged from their talks to offer warm words at a 12-minute press briefing but took no questions.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.

He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.

© Agence France-Presse