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U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed "big progress" on Russia, days after meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as a top White House official revealed that the two leaders agreed to "robust security guarantees" for Ukraine during their high-stakes summit.
Speaking on CNN, special envoy Steve Witkoff added he was hopeful for a "productive meeting" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders on Monday.
Witkoff noted that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the fighting, particularly the eastern Donetsk province.
"We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing," Witkoff said.
He added: "The Russians made some concessions at the table with regard to all five of those regions. There is an important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy on Sunday rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees.
"What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin's thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees," he told a press conference in Brussels alongside EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
"Security means a strong army, which only Ukraine can provide. I believe that only Europe can finance this army."
Von der Leyen and Zelenskyy also shared their thoughts on a possible meeting between Trump, Putin and the Ukrainian leader. "So far, Russia gives no sign that the trilateral will happen and if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow," Zelensky said.
Von der Leyen had said she wanted to see the three-way meeting happen "as soon as possible."
Trump on Monday will be hosting Zelenskyy and a number of European leaders to discuss ways to end Russia's three-and-a-half-year invasion of its neighbor.
The preparations come after Trump dropped his push for a ceasefire following the Alaska summit with Putin, something that had been one of Washington's core demands before the summit, to which Ukraine and its European allies were not invited.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC Sunday that a ceasefire "is not off the table," but "what we ultimately are aiming for is an end to this war."
In a brief post on his Truth Social platform, Trump hailed "big progress on Russia" in all caps, without elaborating.
The leaders heading to Washington on Monday to try and bend Trump's ear on the matter include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, among others.
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