Zelenskyy holds talks with European leaders after meeting with Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with several European heads of state on Friday following his meeting with US President Donald Trump. According to sources cited by RBC-Ukraine, the call was held in a group format, though the full list of participants was not immediately disclosed.

Zelenskyy left the White House earlier in the evening and later addressed journalists, confirming the conversation. He said the discussion included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, the prime ministers of Norway, the United Kingdom’s Keir Starmer, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Poland’s Prime Minister.

The Ukrainian leader described them as "friends" and added that the talks focused on security guarantees, air defense cooperation, and the PURL program. "President Trump opened the corridor for this program; Europe is now funding American systems," he explained.

Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

The earlier meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump lasted over two hours, significantly longer than planned. Both leaders addressed the press beforehand, where Trump said he believed a US-Ukraine partnership could help persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. He also noted that Washington hopes to resolve the situation without supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy, in turn, reiterated Ukraine’s readiness to provide "thousands of drones" in exchange for permission to use Tomahawks and reaffirmed his willingness to engage in talks with Putin, either bilaterally or trilaterally. Trump added that his upcoming meeting with the Kremlin leader would most likely be bilateral, with Zelenskyy joining remotely.