.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called a recent conversation he had with U.S. President Donald Trump on the topic of security guarantees “good,” as the conflict with Russia enters its fourth year.

Meeting at the White House alongside European leaders, Zelenskyy noted that security guarantees for Ukraine were “one of the most important issues” and that he was “very happy that President [Trump]…all the leaders are here and security in Ukraine depends on the United States and European countries.”

“We want to feel that after this war we will exist with your help,” Zelenskyy said, noting Washington’s willingness to send “signals” on the matter was “very important.” He did not, however, offer more specifics on the substance of any such guarantees.

Trump, for his part, acknowledged security was an issue, but noted that Europe should “carry the bulk of that.” Trump also suggested that territory had to be “discussed” if the war was to end, though he did not elaborate. “We have to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact,” he said. “That means the war zone, the war line center.”

The day’s White House meeting came as Western leaders were deeply divided over how to balance support for Ukraine with Washington’s push to negotiate an end to the war. Trump and Zelenskyy’s views on territorial concessions sharply diverged from one another, as Zelenskyy repeatedly said Ukraine would not compromise on its sovereignty and international borders.

Discussion on Guarantees: Focus on Sanctions, Ceasefire, NATO

As leaders in Washington met to discuss potential guarantees for Ukraine, U.S. lawmakers were also sharpening their calls for economic measures against Russia and its trading partners.

In an interview, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged the Trump administration to take more aggressive steps against Russia’s financial sector and the countries still buying its oil. Graham is the co-sponsor of a bill that would permit Trump to slap up to 500 percent tariffs on any country continuing trade with Russia.

“My advice to President Trump and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] is, you’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,” Graham said on Fox News. “The second most important person on the planet to end this war is President Xi in China.”

Trump has already moved to use tariffs as leverage, saying in August he would slap a 50 percent tariff on India in part because of its purchase of Russian oil. Graham said similar threats against China would have an immediate effect.

“The EU is moving on the 19th package of sanctions that are targeting Russia,” a senior European Union official said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “They are going to go further and deeper in the sanctions regime. They will be designed to further squeeze Russian energy revenues and access to the financial system and its military-industrial complex, and will plug the loopholes that have been found.”

Nearly four years of unified Western action against Moscow has left Russia the most sanctioned country of the modern era—more economically isolated than Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela. European leaders at Monday’s meeting also reportedly pushed Trump for a ceasefire before a serious negotiation. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said a temporary truce was needed “to give such a negotiation process a chance, a credibility.”

“I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,” he said. Trump disagreed, pointing to several of the six ceasefire agreements he claimed to have brokered recently without having first halted the fighting. “You have a ceasefire, and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild,” Trump said.

“If I look at the silver lining of where we stand right now, we found a solution in 1944, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to find a solution in 2025 to end Russia’s war of aggression.”

FINLAND: NEW FINESTUN BRANCHING OUT, SUPPORTING TRUMP

In addition to Ukraine and European leaders, Finnish President Alexander Stubb joined the day’s White House talks. In office since March 2024, Stubb has been more openly skeptical of Putin’s ability to respect a ceasefire and emphasized his country’s own experience with Russia, particularly its 800-mile-long border.

Stubb has also been considered one of Trump’s closest European interlocutors. “Mr. President, it’s an honor to be with you. I think you get a very good reaction in Finland,” Stubb said.

Beyond sanctions and a ceasefire, Trump has been more blunt. In a post on Truth Social ahead of the meeting, he made a case for Kyiv formally ceding Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and abandoning its NATO membership goals. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote.

Trump also said that the Obama administration “gave” Crimea to Russia “with nothing but the stroke of a pen over a decade ago.” He added that any eventual deal with Ukraine must contain a “promise that there will be no NATO in Ukraine, no NATO membership for Ukraine.” He stated, “NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE” repeatedly in the post.

Western Support, Sanctions, and Russian Reaction

The sharp contrast between Zelenskyy’s calls for long-term guarantees and Trump’s demands for concessions on territory and NATO encapsulated the major divides in Washington and Europe over how to end the war. A series of new sanctions from the EU is on the way, as are new threats of tariffs from Trump and Graham.

The question is what Putin, in Moscow, might do next as the war continues on the battlefield, with the two sides still clashing regularly and no sign yet of any real progress on the battlefield.