Zelensky, Trump and EU leaders meet at the White House for talks about Ukraine
Ukrainian President Zelenkie, Trump and the European leaders will meet in Washington on Monday to discuss ceasefires and peace efforts.
President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky and top European leaders at the White House on Monday, August 18th, following the Alaska Summit on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
All longtime Ukrainian supporters travelled to Washington, D.C. as a group to promote Washington, D.C. to Zelensky’s position as a group, as Trump continues to promote peace deals to end the war for more than three years.
Here’s what you need to know about the group of foreign leaders who accompanied Zelensky on a trip to the White House on August 18th.
Who was the leader who joined Zelensky at the White House?
The European leaders who participated in the conference were British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finland President Alexander Stabb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Chief Mark Latte.
Who is British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer?
British Prime Minister Kiel was the fourth prime minister in less than two years and took office in July 2024. His election was a Labour landslide.
The UK has been a major supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion and, together with the US and Germany, is one of the leading donors of military aid to Ukraine, according to a recent briefing from the House Library. The UK has pledged more than $16 billion in aid as of the June 2025 report, after the war began, of which $10 billion is for military aid.
In a statement released ahead of the August 18 summit, priorities reaffirmed the UK’s support of Ukraine and threatened an increase in sanctions against Russia in response to the ongoing war. “Our unwavering support for Ukraine will continue as long as it is necessary,” he said.
Who is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni?
Giorgia Meloni will be Italy’s prime minister since October 2022. She is Italy’s first female prime minister and the first far-right leader since World War II.
Italy is one of the six founding members of the EU, and is the third largest economy in the bloc. In the past, Italy has played a valuable role as a bridge between Russia and China’s Europe and hostile governments, as well as some countries in the Middle East. Like most EU countries, Italy was Ukraine’s immovable ally during the war, like five other leaders who joined her in Washington, DC on August 18th.
In a joint statement after meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15th, Meloni joined several other EU leaders with a pledge to support Ukraine.
“Our support for Ukraine will continue. We are determined to do more to keep Ukraine strong in order to end combat and just and lasting peace,” said August 16.
Who is French President Emmanuel Macron?
French President Emmanuel Macron has been leading the country since May 2017, and in 2022 he cruised for the second term against Marine Le Pen, a far-right populist who attacked the European Union and NATO and expressed his support for Russia.
Early in the war, Macron created himself as one of Europe’s important mediators in the burgeoning conflict, and tried to end the war by establishing a dialogue with Putin, but they failed. Recently, Macron has played a leading role in Europe’s push to prevent Trump from legalizing Putin and rewarding Russian invasions in a hurry to end the Ukrainian war.
Macron was the first European leader to visit the White House since Trump took office earlier this year.
Who is German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz?
Among the four European heads of state who descended to the White House for consultation, Friedrich Merz is his latest office after winning the election in May 2025. He is the leader of the Christian Democratic Union Party on the centre right and is Europe’s largest national economy chief.
Germany’s decision to send military aid to Ukraine in 2022 marked a significant reversal in the country’s long-standing position of never sending off attack weapons to conflict zones. Among European countries, it is one of the top providers of aid to Ukraine. According to a May 2025 report from the German government, the aid includes equipment and weapons such as air defense systems, combat vehicles, gun systems, armored transport vehicles, small arms, ammunition, and other types of support, including medical supplies and clothing. Between the beginning of this year and May 2025, the report states that total German aid to Ukraine exceeded $50 billion.
Who is Finland’s President Alexander Stubb?
Alexander Stubb is the president of Finland and the sole leader of the White House Conference, representing the country bordering Russia. He was elected in February 2024, about a year after the state joined NATO. A member of the conservative national coalition party, he previously served as Finland’s prime minister, finance minister, foreign minister, trade minister and European minister.
Finland has provided over $4 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war began, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Who is President of the European Commission Ursula von der Reyen?
Ursula von der Leyen has been the chairman of the European Commission since 2019 and is the first woman to hold a post. Before taking up the position, she was a German MP, serving in German parliament and among other roles as the federal minister of defense. In her ability as president, she manages the organization of the European Commission, including policy issues, and often represents the body at international conferences and at summits.
This is the meeting that Von Der Leyen has been a months-long meeting with the US President, following a July 27 meeting at one of Trump’s finest golf courses in Scotland, reaching the US-EU trade agreement.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s brutal invasion, Europe has been on the Ukrainian side of United, and we will support you as long as it takes just and lasting peace,” she said in a statement on August 16, following a meeting with the Ukrainian president. “And this peace must be achieved through strength.”
Who is NATO Executive Director Mark Latte?
Mark Latte is the Secretary General of NATO. He took office in October 2024 and was former Dutch prime minister from October 2010 to July 2024.
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance of two North American countries, the US and Canada, and 28 countries. According to the US State Department, NATO was founded in 1949 after the end of World War II, the world’s largest peace military alliance. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but a partner country of NATO. This means that they work closely with NATO, but are not covered by the security guarantees of the Alliance Establishment Treaty. The prospect of joining NATO is a major fixture in potential peace negotiations, with Ukraine hoping that the Security Alliance and Russia will be strongly opposed, and Putin has long considered NATO’s existence and its continued growth as a threat.
Contributors: Kim Fjermgaard, Francesca Chambers, USA Today; Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can contact her kapalmer@usatoday.com And with x @Kathrynplmr.
