On the night of Monday to Tuesday, Donald Trump's conversations with European leaders ended in the White House. The meeting, in which Wołodymyr Zelnski was accompanied by the leaders of France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Finland, as well as the chairwoman of the European Commission and the head of NATO, took place After Friday's peak in Alaska with the participation of Trump and Vladimir Putin.
At the beginning of the meeting, Trump said Putin “agreed to security guarantees for Ukraine.” Meanwhile, according to the Financial Times, Ukraine undertook to buy an American weapon worth $ 100 billion. In return, for US security guarantees.
According to the proposals of Kiev and Washington, they would also conclude an agreement worth $ 50 billion. with Ukrainian companies for the production of drones. As noted, these enterprises are pioneers of this technology since the full -size Russian invasion in 2022.
A key meeting in Washington. “Ukrainians and the entire West won”
– For now, it looks like the effects of the meeting are much better than you could expect. President Zelnski and his European allies apparently did a great, diplomatic work and they deserve a lot of applause – says Dr. Witold Sokała.
He adds that above all, he managed not to lead to a disaster, i.e. a row and breaking conversations.
– And after all, thin ice. Donald Trump manipulated by Putin probably expected his guests to simply accept Russian demands. Meanwhile, they boiled down to surrender, and not only Ukraine itself, but in fact the whole West – he adds.
– A categorical refusal could provoke Trump's nervous reaction, Kiev's confusion with his key partners, and, for example, blocking the supply of American weapons and interrupting intelligence aid for Ukraine. It was a black script, which the Russian side probably quietly counted on – he comments.
US President Donald Trump with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelnski in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, August 18, 2025.
The media revealed the backstage of conversations with Trump. “It crosses Putin's plans”
An expert on international relations notes that the Monday meeting ended with very constructive arrangements.
– First of all, they cross Russian plans, and secondly, they may really open their way to the room. This is obviously a very distant perspective, and a lot of bad can happen, but the direction given yesterday in Washington is correct. First of all – thanks to the correct, thoughtful approach of the European side, the US president is probably on the right side of the barricade again. It can be said that symbolically “he returned from Alaska” – emphasizes the journalist of “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”.
He also draws attention to the way European leaders treated Donald Trump yesterday.
The President of the United States Donald Trump (P) and President of Ukraine Wołodymyr Zelnski in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 18 August 2025.
– This is the result of, among others, numerous thanks and compliments, which guests offered him in front of the cameras and probably also during the conversations behind the closed door. This may seem like a childish game, but Putin successfully used this instrument, and now Zelanski, Stubb, Melons and the company have learned to use it. Trump loves it, has such a personality, so you can laugh at it or express embarrassment, but the tool works. For my part, I can only sympathize with the actors of yesterday's performance, but this is the work of presidents and prime ministers – there is no doubt.
– Something else worked – business offers. This was also calculated, taking into account Trump's preferences. Simply put, instead of very vague promises made in this matter by the Russians, Ukrainians and their European friends put a concrete on the table. High amounts for the purchase of American weapons plus joint investments in sensitive industries, for example, the production of drones. It had to like it – he is convinced by Dr. Sokała.
Onet's interlocutor also emphasizes the meaning of recent events on the war front:
– Not without optimistic information from the battlefield was probably significant: just yesterday the Ukrainians were successful at Pokrowskie, and the drones hit the other Russian refineries accurately, which demolishes deliveries to the aggressor's civil economy.
Zelanski beat Putin? Expert: This is the reflection of the balls of the ball
According to the political scientist, it is showing that Moscow is by no means “doomed to success” in the war, plus speaking Trump to the ego and at the same time to the wallet caused that the main dangers were able to resolve.
– The most dangerous topic, i.e. Ukrainian territorial concessions, was removed from the agenda, moving them to future direct conversations between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine – he notes.
– This is the reflection of the balls of the ball, because now it is Putin – if he decides to question it – he will become an opponent of peace in the eyes of Americans, with all possible consequences. It also sounded that sanctions can be loose only when Russia really demonstrates good will and compliance with concluded agreements, not in the dark and immediately. This is the correct order – says the commentator.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in Alaska, August 15, 2025.
The journalist of Dziennik Gazeta Prawna also notices progress in an important issue of security guarantee.
– Trump declared cooperation with European partners in this area. This is obviously vague for now, but if it could be clarified – for example, in the form of American intelligence support and the cover from the air of any European contingents – it will mean a lot.
Guarantees for Ukraine. Expert: They lost the absent, headed by Putin
The interlocutor Onet finally draws attention to what was crucial in yesterday's conversations of European leaders in the White House:
– However, it is always worth emphasizing: it is not paper obligations or even the symbolic military presence of allies in Ukraine are of significant importance. The own strength of the Ukrainian army is crucial, and there is no way of demilitarization of Ukraine, and well. Western investments in the Ukrainian economy, which is expected to, plus open channels of political cooperation with Western powers – he says.
– To sum up: yesterday Ukrainians and the entire West won in Washington, treated as a strategic and civilization community. They lost the absent, headed by Putin. But this is only a skirmish win. The fate of the entire campaign and war is not determined at all – reserves Dr. Sokała.
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