US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky held a highly publicized meeting in the Oval Office on Monday as European leaders arrived in Washington for high-stakes talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that today in Washington, during a joint meeting of the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, European countries, the EU, and NATO, the focus will be on shaping the future security architecture for Ukraine and Europe.

At what was billed as an “historic” presidential summit, hastily put together in Alaska on Friday afternoon, the optics were as clear and overshadowing as the vast Chugach mountains glistening over Anchorage in the summer sun.

Zelensky wore a black military-style suit to a cordial White House meeting with Trump, contrasting February’s tense encounter.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and senior European leaders are travelling to the White House to urge Donald Trump to back Ukraine and spell out the security guarantees the US would offer to help reach a truce with Russia.