Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived at the White House for his meeting with Donald Trump. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first: He’s wearing a black jacket and collared shirt of some sorts. Both the press and the president complimented his outfit.
REPORTER: “You look fabulous in that suit!”@POTUS: “I said the same thing!”
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
President Trump greeted Zelensky as he arrived, and the two stood outside the White House for a quick photo op before going inside.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House 🇺🇸🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/tqbdBCZyg2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
Trump and Zelensky both made general statements before speaking to the press. Both men emphasized a desire for “long-term” peace in the Russian-Ukrainian War, not just a temporary ceasefire. As a matter of fact, Trump said he doesn’t think there will be a ceasefire and pointed out that he “didn’t do any ceasefires” in the previous peace deals he brokered this year.
.@POTUS: “We’re going to work with Ukraine, we’re going to work with everybody, and we’re going to make sure that if there’s peace, that peace is going to stay long-term… We’re not talking about a 2-year peace and then we end up in this mess again.” pic.twitter.com/9X4I8I78do
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
Both Zelensky and members of the media brought up First Lady Melania Trump’s letter to Vladimir Putin, which Trump said was well-received. He said the first lady wants an end to this. He pointed out how much she loves children and how much it pains her to see children living through war. Zelensky also brought Mrs. Trump a letter from his own wife, Olena Zelenska.
.@POTUS: “@FLOTUS felt very strongly. She’s watched the same thing that you watch… She loves children, and she hates to see something like this happening… It was a very beautiful letter. It was very well-received by him.” https://t.co/PtRGcC8Fsm pic.twitter.com/rs14n8Ae3O
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expresses his gratitude towards First Lady Melania Trump, for her peace letter written to Putin.
Zelenskyy then gives President Trump a letter for Melania, written by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. pic.twitter.com/iJxlLeR0LV
— FLOTUS Report (@MELANIAJTRUMP) August 18, 2025
Trump vowed to protect Ukraine and offer security assistance, but he and said Europeans will be primarily responsible. Ultimately, Trump made it clear that he wants this war to end sooner rather than later.
.@POTUS: “I love the Ukrainian people, but I love all people. I love the Russian people. I love ’em all. I want to get the war stopped.” pic.twitter.com/tE4RgXAoDS
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 18, 2025
Now, Trump and Zelensky will meet with the numerous European leaders — including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte — who are also in Washington, D.C. today, and after that, Trump said he will speak to Putin again. He’s hoping that all of this will lead to a trilateral meeting between Putin, Zelensky, and himself. He says if that happens, we have a reasonable chance of ending the war.
This is a developing story.
