When Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European allies meet Donald Trump in Washington, a huge amount is at stake.

Ukrainian officials are reported to feel betrayed by the US president, who appears to have shifted position to side with Vladimir Putin on a number of key points in the wake of the meeting with him in Alaska.

Trump has undermined the unity of the Western alliance by abandoning their calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.

He is no longer threatening more severe sanctions, and more worryingly still he seems open to the idea of making the Ukrainians hand over territory the Russians have not yet captured.

He and his real estate lawyer turned rookie negotiator Steve Witkoff seem to believe the conflict can be resolved by an exchange of territory. Putin on the other hand has made it clear he is fighting to extinguish Ukraine as an independent and democratic entity.

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Ukrainians say that for Zelenskyy, handing over land his troops have been fighting to defend since 2014 would be politically suicidal and strategically insane.

Sergeant Andriy Poluhin, from the Ukrainian 24th Brigade, has fought the Russians in Donetsk on and off since 2015 and is currently based in the fiercely embattled town of Chasiv Yar.

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He’s typical of many Ukrainians, appalled at the idea his country would have to hand over land so many of their comrades have died fighting for.

Putin’s claim that he wants to end the war and stop the killing, he says, is self-evidently false.

“It’s a lie, it’s obviously a lie. I think it’s not only my thoughts or Ukrainian ones, but everyone who deals with Russia understands he just lies,” he says.

Many would agree – except the US president himself, who says he believes the Russian leader wants the killing to end.

The challenge for Zelenskyy and his European outriders when they go to the White House is avoiding a repeat of the disastrous Oval Office encounter between him and Trump and his vice president in February.

They need to steer Trump back to their side of the argument without angering the famously thin-skinned president and driving him further towards Moscow.

The unity of the alliance against Putin has never been so threatened.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy could “end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to”, Donald Trump has said – ahead of crucial White House talks on the future of Ukraine.

Mr Trump made the comment in a series of social media posts throwing forward to his meeting with the Ukrainian president, who will be supported by Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders.

The allies are travelling to Washington DC with the aim of protecting Ukraine from having to concede key regions to Russia in exchange for peace, following the US president’s high-profile meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

They will also be keen to avoid a repeat of Mr Zelenskyy‘s last heated visit to the White House in February, which ended with the Ukrainian leader leaving early and later resulted in US aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Mr Trump shared on his own network, Truth Social, on Sunday. “Remember how it started,” he added, before highlighting the annexation of Crimea.

Describing today as a “big day” at the White House, he added: “Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!.”

Sir Keir and six other political heavyweights will present a united front alongside Mr Zelenskyy, who is expecting to face calls to surrender full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two mineral-rich regions where large areas are currently occupied by Russian troops.

In September 2022, Moscow announced it was officially annexing them, alongside the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, in a move rejected and condemned as illegal by the West.

Mr Putin would reportedly give up other territories held by his troops in exchange and agree to a “NATO-like” security guarantee preventing Ukraine from further incursion.

At today’s Oval Office encounter, Mr Zelenskyy will be joined by France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Alexander Stubb, president of Finland, as well as head of NATO Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Sir Keir.

They are set to arrive at midday (5pm UK time). Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy will hold a bilateral meeting first, before a multilateral meeting with the rest of the European leaders.

In a message on X on Sunday, before Mr Trump’s posts, the Ukrainian president said strong unity from Europe was “essential” to achieve an end to the war, and that it was “impossible” for Ukraine to “give up or trade land”.

He said a ceasefire was necessary for a deal to be worked on, writing: “We have to stop the killings. Putin has many demands but we do not know all of them.

“If there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. It is impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons.”

What is the ‘NATO-like’ security guarantee?

Following the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, the two leaders said they had agreed on some points but did not elaborate further.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said: “We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO.”

Article 5 is a core principle of the 32-member collective, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all. It has only been invoked once, by the US, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Russia has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine cannot be allowed to join NATO and has dismissed the idea that NATO member forces could be peacekeepers under some sort of ceasefire deal.

Mr Witkoff, who has held previous discussions with Mr Putin on ending the war, said Friday’s summit was the first time he had heard the Russian leader agree to the suggestion of NATO-like protection – and called it “game-changing”.

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In a post on X, Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said Russia agrees a future peace agreement “should provide reliable security assurances or guarantees for Ukraine”.

But Moscow should also get efficient security guarantees, he added. “What the West has to offer? Apparently they haven’t yet started to think about it. It is a mistake, which needs to be corrected.”

He also said efforts now should focus on the “main goal – the need to elaborate quickly an efficient long-term peace accord, not a questionable ceasefire which diverts attention”.

No talk of ceasefire after summit

Despite prior threats of severe sanctions for Russia should a ceasefire not be agreed during the talks in Alaska, there was no mention of this from Mr Trump afterwards. Instead, he said he wanted to focus on a long-term deal for peace.

Mr Putin has long refused to agree to a ceasefire as a precondition for talks to end the war, prompting fears that Russia could continue gaining ground in Ukraine as negotiations take place.

Read more from Sky News:
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At a news conference on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen said the aim was to “stop the killing”, and suggested a ceasefire and a peace deal would have that same impact.

Mr Trump has previously said today’s meeting with Mr Zelenskyy could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin.

Vladimir Putin has agreed to allow Ukraine’s allies to offer it a NATO-like security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Mr Witkoff said the Russian president agreed to the move when he met with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Mr Witkoff, who was by the US president’s side at the summit, said: “We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO.”

Article 5 is a core principle of the 32-member collective, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all. It has only been invoked once, by the US, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Russia has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine cannot be allowed to join NATO and has dismissed the idea that NATO member forces could be peacekeepers under some sort of ceasefire deal.

Mr Witkoff, who has previously met with Mr Putin to discuss an end to the Ukraine war, said Friday’s summit was the first time he had heard the Russian president agree to the suggestion of NATO-like protection – and called it “game-changing”.

His comments came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.

The Ukrainian president said in a post on X: “This is a historic decision that the United States is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine.

“Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation.”

Ms von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference with the Ukrainian president, said the European Union “is ready to do its share”.

EU leaders to join Zelenskyy at White House

Sunday afternoon also saw Ms von der Leyen and Mr Zelenskyy dial in to a meeting with the coalition of the willing, a peacekeeping alliance of European leaders – some of whom will accompany Mr Zelenskyy to meet with Mr Trump tomorrow.

Ms von der Leyen will be at the crunch talks in Washington DC, as will Sir Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be in attendance, after the US president reportedly extended an invitation to European leaders.

Read more: Why is Zelenskyy bringing a posse of leaders?

Mr Putin has reportedly made demands to take control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine during his summit with Mr Trump as a condition for ending the war.

In exchange, Russia would give up other Ukrainian territories held by its troops, according to several news reports citing sources close to the matter.

Russian troops currently occupy large parts of the two regions and, in September 2022, Moscow announced it was officially annexing them, alongside the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, in a move rejected and condemned as illegal by the West.

Mr Trump is said to be planning to urge Mr Zelenskyy to agree to the conditions as part of a peace deal to end the war.

That’s despite the Ukrainian president previously ruling out formally handing any territory to Moscow, which he says would be impossible under the country’s constitution, and would deprive Ukraine of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.

In coordinated statements following the Alaska summit, European leaders said Mr Zelenskyy must play a greater role in future talks, and that peace cannot be achieved without him.

The US president said the Washington talk with Mr Zelenskyy could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin.

Read more from Sky News:
The territory Ukraine could be told to surrender
Body language expert unpacks Alaska summit

On Saturday, Downing Street insisted Sir Keir and other allies stand ready to support the next phase of talks to end the war.

“At the meeting that will take place at the White House tomorrow, the Prime Minister, with other European partners, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes,” a statement from No 10 said.