Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally asked President Trump for continued American support during a cross-ocean G7 meeting held Monday — the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky — flanked by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders who made their way to Kyiv to mark the occasion — made his case to Trump on why the US should work to protect Ukraine’s interests amid ongoing tension with the president.
Trump, 78, joined the meeting from Washington, where he was flanked by Vice President JD Vance and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Ukrainian president pointed out Trump’s “strength” and said that world leaders hoped that strength will bring about a peace settlement — while arguing that NATO membership is the best path forward for his country.
“If Ukraine remains outside of the protection of NATO, it will be a lot more expensive and more difficult step for everyone, because NATO is the easiest and the most effective way to get security guarantees,” Zelensky said.
The Trump White House has indicated that it believes Ukrainian ascension into the Atlantic alliance is “unrealistic” given Russia’s fierce disapproval — and has tried to secure a rare-earth mineral deal with Ukraine that US officials say will serve as a guarantee of support through American investment.
Zelensky, who has been asking for security guarantees beyond American investment, said on X the G7 meeting was “productive” and that “most of our partners” had “principled words.”
“We all strive for peace and want to make it as reliable and lasting as possible. Today, we discussed the need for security guarantees for Ukraine and real ways to ensure an end to this Russian aggression and prevent any new one. Peace is needed,” Zelensky wrote.
Exiting the White House following the meeting, Macron told reporters the call was “perfect” and said that his welcome from Trump was “very friendly.”
Macron, in a question-and-answer session on X last week, said he will tell Trump: “You can’t be weak in the face of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin. It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest. How can you then be credible in the face of China if you’re weak in the face of Putin?”
Macron also said last week France was interested in putting peacekeepers in Ukraine after an agreement to end the fighting is signed — but Russia has stressed that any NATO-adjacent troops in the neighboring country would be unacceptable.
Trump has soured on Ukraine and Zelensky, calling him a “dictator” and demanding elections in Kyiv last week as the Ukrainian president has held out against signing a revised mineral rights agreement.
The president’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, left Kyiv on Friday after three days of meetings without finalizing a rare earths deal.
Zelensky had also accused Trump of living in a Russian “disinformation space,” after the president told reporters last week that Ukraine had “started” the war.
