Zelenskyy Makes the Most of His Oval Office Do-Over

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his much-anticipated return to the White House Monday for a do-over of his disastrous Oval Office meeting in February.

The sit-down took on a markedly different tone from Zelenskyy’s trip to Washington earlier this year, when a visibly angry Trump dressed the Ukrainian leader down in front of the world’s press and Vice President JD Vance insisted he say “thank you” for U.S. support in the country’s ongoing war with Russia.

When presented with a question Monday about who holds the better cards — a throwback to the president’s outburst during Zelenskyy’s last meeting — Trump notably did not take the bait, instead insisting that his only goal was to help the war-torn nation, whose people “have suffered incredibly.”

Right-wing media personality Brian Glenn, who upbraided Zelenskyy in February for not wearing a suit, even complimented the Ukrainian president for his new outfit.

“And you are wearing the same suit — I changed, and you have not,” Zelenskyy joked, prompting laughter from Trump and others in the room.

Despite the cordial reception, it was unclear whether Ukraine had entered Monday’s meeting with an improved negotiating position.

Zelenskyy was escorted by a number of European and NATO leaders to the meeting, in order to present a united front. “Together with the leaders of Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, the European Commission, and the NATO Secretary General, we coordinated our positions ahead of the meeting with President Trump,” he posted on X earlier Monday.

The seemingly calmer August meeting came three days after Trump summited with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska. While Putin referred to “agreements” and Trump said the meeting was “extremely productive,” it failed to produce a ceasefire.

The contours of a peace agreement appeared to be forming over the weekend — Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said during a whistle-stop tour of the Sunday political shows that Russia agreed the U.S. and Europe could allow an “Article 5-like” security arrangement for Ukraine, referring to NATO’s collective defense clause.

In exchange, Trump said he and Putin had “largely agreed” to what he called a “land swap” — though any decision to cede territory would have to be approved by Ukraine, which has resisted such demands in the past.

Zelenskyy repeatedly has said giving up land is off the table, and he has not indicated publicly that his position on the matter has changed.

Just hours before he was set to meet with Zelenskyy, Trump indicated that he placed at least some of the burden of ending the war on Ukraine, posting on Truth Social that “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”

Talks were set to continue for the rest of Monday afternoon, including in a multilateral meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders. Trump told reporters that he would be calling Putin with updates following the negotiations.

At a televised roundtable immediately following the Oval Office meeting, European leaders all praised Trump lavishly for bringing Putin to the negotiating table and setting up an “open path” for the talks ahead. Each said they felt the U.S. and their countries were aligned in seeking peace, and several reinforced the need for a rescue of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia, also a focus area of first lady Melania Trump.

“I really want to thank you, president of the United States, dear Donald, for the fact that you, as I said before, broke the deadlock, basically, with President Putin by starting the dialogue,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “And the fact that you have said ‘I am willing to participate in security guarantees’ is a big step, is really a breakthrough, and it makes all the difference.”