Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, seeking deeper cooperation with Washington on defence and peace efforts as the two leaders held their second meeting this month.
The meeting took place ahead of the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime supporter of Ukraine who had recently visited Kyiv and helped secure a sanctions package targeting countries that buy Russian oil, gas and other exports.
Shortly after arriving in the United States, Zelenskyy said on social media that his top priorities were strengthening Ukraine’s air defence capabilities and expanding strategic cooperation with Washington.
“Peace needs to be brought closer,” Zelenskyy said as he arrived at the White House.
A White House official said Trump planned to discuss the ongoing peace process between Russia and Ukraine during the closed-door talks.
Trump also reflected on Graham’s strong support for Ukraine, saying the senator had consistently backed Kyiv and had pushed for a deal to end the war. However, Trump noted that Graham had not taken the same approach regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict as he had on Iran.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has received unexpected support from Laura Loomer, a conservative activist known for her influence among Trump’s supporters. After visiting Ukraine and meeting Zelenskyy, Loomer said she had changed her views after witnessing the impact of Russia’s attacks firsthand and acknowledged she had been influenced by Russian propaganda.
Loomer said she discussed her Ukraine visit with Trump and believed the situation was favourable for Kyiv ahead of Zelenskyy’s White House meeting.
Before the talks, Zelenskyy accused Russia of assisting Iran by providing satellite images of US military bases in the Gulf region that were later used in Iranian attacks. He said there was a clear connection between Russian imagery and subsequent strikes.
Trump, however, played down the significance of any possible Russian assistance to Iran, saying he did not believe Moscow had provided substantial help. He added that he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During his Washington visit, Zelenskyy is also scheduled to meet US senators at the Capitol following Graham’s funeral.
Republican leaders are seeking to move forward with Graham’s sanctions legislation, which has support from lawmakers of both major parties. The bill includes tariffs on goods from major buyers of Russian energy, including China and India, as well as sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior officials, financial institutions and energy projects.
Trump and Zelenskyy previously met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month, where Trump announced that the United States would help Ukraine produce Patriot air defence systems — a long-standing request from Kyiv to counter Russian missile attacks.
Trump said Washington and Kyiv had developed a good relationship and that Ukraine would be able to manufacture the advanced defence systems relatively quickly with US assistance.