Zelenskyy Visits White House as Trump Pushes for Ukraine-Russia Peace Deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to visit the White House today as President Donald Trump continues efforts to broker a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

NBC- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to visit the White House today as President Donald Trump continues efforts to broker a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine. “We’re working very hard to get that war brought to an end,” Trump said Thursday after discussing peace plans with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.  Trump signaled uncertainty about the timeline, stating, “It will either be fairly soon or it won’t be at all.” Starmer, meanwhile, emphasized that any peace agreement must not reward Russian aggression.

European allies have been pushing for a diplomatic resolution, with initial negotiations involving Russia. Ukrainian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk has been advocating in Washington, documenting Russian war crimes, and highlighting Ukrainian suffering.

“We’re discussing our future. We’re discussing our home,” Matviichuk said, stressing that true peace requires security guarantees to prevent future Russian attacks. “Not to live under a constant threat that tomorrow Russia will start bombarding massively Ukrainian cities again.”

As part of today’s discussions, Zelenskyy is expected to sign an agreement allowing the U.S. to share revenue from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for security assurances. However, Trump has suggested that Europe should take the lead in providing such guarantees.

The meeting comes amid controversy, as Trump recently alarmed allies by falsely suggesting that Ukraine started the war—claims Zelenskyy dismissed as Russian disinformation. Trump also referred to Zelenskyy as a “dictator,” later appearing to walk back the comment, saying, “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question.”