.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Monday that he had a “good” conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on security guarantees for Ukraine as the war with Russia enters its fourth year.

In a speech at the White House alongside Trump and European leaders, Zelenskyy reiterated that security guarantees are at the center of Ukraine’s survival and future independence. “The first one is security guarantees. And we are very happy with President [Trump], that all the leaders are here, and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and European countries,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine is very grateful for what you have done,” he continued, “and also, we are very glad that the United States is ready to give such strong signals of support to Ukraine.” Zelenskyy did not specify what a security guarantee would entail, but that it would be discussed with other nations.

Trump similarly highlighted security, but stressed the European burden. “Europe has to help us more in this conflict,” he said. “We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure,” he said. “We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center.”

The meeting at the White House on Monday brought into stark relief the sharp divisions between Western leaders about how to balance pressure to negotiate peace with continued support for Ukraine. Trump’s comments about territorial swaps in Ukraine stood in contrast to Zelenskyy, who repeatedly emphasized during the joint press conference that Ukraine’s sovereignty and international borders must be respected.

Calls for Sanctions and a Ceasefire Grow Louder; NATO a Sticking Point

In Washington on Monday, as leaders gathered to discuss guarantees, U.S. lawmakers sharpened their rhetoric on economic pressure against Russia and its trading partners. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called for the Trump administration to take much more aggressive action against Moscow’s finances by targeting countries that are still buying Russian oil. Graham is also co-sponsoring a bill that would allow Trump to levy up to 500 percent tariffs on any country that continues to do business with Russia.

“I’ve got to convince Putin that if this war doesn’t end justly and honorably with Ukraine making concessions also, we’re going to destroy the Russian economy. The best way to do that is in China,” Graham said on Fox News on Monday. “The second most important person on the planet to end this war is President Xi in China, and I think we’ve got to make it clear to Xi,” Graham said. He called for Washington to use the same pressure that has cut Russia off from the international financial system to make Beijing cut its trade with Moscow. Trump has already shown a willingness to weaponize tariffs. He announced a 50 percent tariff on India in August, at least in part because of New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases. Graham’s tariff threat for China, which buys some $120 billion in Russian oil and gas annually, could dramatically alter the conflict in days.

The European Union is expected to approve its 19th round of sanctions against Russia later this month. The new measures, which aim to further reduce Russia’s energy revenues, limit access to international banking, and choke off the military-industrial base, are also expected to close key loopholes that have allowed some degree of evasion of existing sanctions. After almost four years of Western coordination, Russia is the most sanctioned country in modern history—overtaking Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela combined.

Sanctions, however, are not the only area of disagreement. In Europe, leaders also called on Trump to pressure Zelenskyy to accept a ceasefire before any negotiations take place. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking ahead of the summit, said that a temporary cessation of hostilities is necessary for peace talks to have any credibility. “I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” he said. Trump, however, disagreed. “They’ve had several of the six meetings without the ceasefire,” he said, referring to the six peace agreements he said he brokered in recent months. “You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild,” Trump added, before acknowledging that a truce’s primary value was to stop civilian deaths.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb also participated in White House talks on Monday. Stubb, who took office in March 2024, has been openly skeptical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interest in or ability to observe a ceasefire. “We’ve had almost eight hundred years of experience with Putin in the form of Russia,” Stubb said, speaking of Finland’s eight hundred-mile-long border with Russia. “One of the closest European leaders to President Trump is President Stubb of Finland,” Trump said. Stubb echoed Trump in a post on Truth Social ahead of the summit, writing, “In many ways this war is already lost by Russia…We can also be sure that if Putin loses, this war will continue for some time.”

Beyond sanctions and ceasefires, Trump has been direct about his conditions for peace. In a post on Truth Social, the former president urged Ukraine to formally renounce Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and to abandon NATO accession as a goal. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said. “Russia,” he continued, “was given Crimea by the Obama administration without any resistance more than a decade ago. “NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE,” Trump added, has to be the red line for the U.S.

The contrast between Zelenskyy’s demand for long-term Western guarantees and Trump’s calls for immediate concessions highlights the deep divides in Washington and Europe about the war’s endgame. With new sanctions on the way, mounting tariff threats, and continued fighting on the battlefield, a path to peace is a long way from certain—trapped between calls for compromise and solidarity.