US envoy says Putin agreed to security protections for Ukraine as part of Trump summit
Special US envoy Steve Witkoff has also been speaking to the media. He said on Sunday that Vladimir Putin agreed at the Alaska summit with Donald Trump to allow the US and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling Nato’s collective defence mandate (article 5: an attack on one member is an attack on all) as part of an eventual deal to end the war.
Speaking with Jake Tapper, Witkoff told CNN’s State of the Union programme:
We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer article five like language to cover a security guarantee. So Putin has said that a red flag is Nato admission.
And so what we were discussing was assuming that that held, assuming that the Ukrainians could agree to that, and could live with that, and everything is going to be about what the Ukrainians can live with.
But assuming they could, we were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer article five, like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato, we sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer article five protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.
Key events
In response to whether the US accepted everything Vladimir Putin laid on the table during Friday’s Alaska summit, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday:
“The United States is not in a position to accept anything or reject anything, because ultimately, it’s up to the Ukrainians. They’re the ones that Russia has to make peace with… We have to make enough progress so that we can sit down President Zelensky and President Zelensky and President Putin in the same place, which is what President Zelensky has been asking for, and reach a final agreement that ends this war.
Now, there were some concepts and ideas discussed that we know the Ukrainians could be very supportive of in that meeting… We’re not going to negotiate this in the media. I understand that everybody wants to know what happened. But ultimately, there are things that were discussed as part of this meeting that are potentials for breakthroughs, that are potentials for progress.”
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, has said in a post on X that the Trump administration has swung from saying there would be severe consequences on Russia if it did not agree to a ceasefire to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, shutting down the option indefinitely in an interview with Meet the Press. Rubio said:
I don’t think new sanctions on Russia are going to force him to accept the ceasefire. They’re already under very severe sanctions …
The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to the table will be severely diminished. That moment may arrive.
But when it comes, what you’re basically signaling is ‘There is no opportunity for peace at this point. So just let’s put on more sanctions and allow more people to get bombed and more people to be killed’. And that’s what we’re trying to stop.
Pope Leo XIV has posted to X. History’s first American pope wrote 45 minutes ago:
Let us pray that efforts to bring wars to an end and to promote peace may bear fruit, and that in negotiations the common good of peoples may always be placed first.
The virtual meeting with Nato leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy started at about 14:30 BST. We will bring you the key lines from what is being discussed as soon as we have them.
It is being hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and includes leaders from Italy, the UK and Germany.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appear on a screen during the “coalition of the willing” video conference. Photograph: Philippe Magoni/AP
Russia agreed to concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, Witkoff says
Steve Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, particularly the eastern Donetsk province.
“We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as gamechanging,” Witkoff said.
He told CNN:
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.
As a reminder, Vladimir Putin has reportedly demanded Ukraine withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for ending the war and in exchange would freeze the frontline in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
US envoy says Putin agreed to security protections for Ukraine as part of Trump summit
Special US envoy Steve Witkoff has also been speaking to the media. He said on Sunday that Vladimir Putin agreed at the Alaska summit with Donald Trump to allow the US and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling Nato’s collective defence mandate (article 5: an attack on one member is an attack on all) as part of an eventual deal to end the war.
Speaking with Jake Tapper, Witkoff told CNN’s State of the Union programme:
We got to an agreement that the United States and other European nations could effectively offer article five like language to cover a security guarantee. So Putin has said that a red flag is Nato admission.
And so what we were discussing was assuming that that held, assuming that the Ukrainians could agree to that, and could live with that, and everything is going to be about what the Ukrainians can live with.
But assuming they could, we were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer article five, like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato, we sort of were able to bypass that and get an agreement that the United States could offer article five protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.
US may not be able to create scenario to end war in Ukraine, secretary of state says
Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who joined Donald Trump at his summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, has been speaking to CBS’ Face the Nation programme.
He said the US will keep trying to create a scenario to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but admitted that might not be possible, stressing that life in the US won’t be fundamentally altered if peace in Ukraine is not achieved.
“If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands … we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don’t want to wind up there,” Rubio said.
“There are things that were discussed as part of this meeting that are potentials for breakthroughs, that are potential for progress,” he said, adding that topics for discussion would include security guarantees for Ukraine.
Donald Trump promises ‘big progress’ on Russia
Donald Trump has just posted a very brief update on Truth Social. He wrote: “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED! President DJT.”
A few minutes before this post, the US president wrote:
If I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the Deal, the Fake News, and their PARTNER, the Radical Left Democrats, would say I made a terrible mistake and a very bad deal. That’s why they are the FAKE NEWS! Also, they should talk about the 6 WARS, etc., I JUST STOPPED!!! MAGA.
The final question comes from a Ukrainian journalist, who asks Zelenskyy what security guarantees he wants and if he is worried about a repeat of the chaotic scenes played out during his last visit to the White House in February.
Zelenskyy says that the financing of security guarantees can only be funded by Europe but there are other things Washington can help with, adding that he hopes the White House meeting tomorrow will be “very productive”.
Zelenskyy and von der Leyen then took two questions from the press.
The first journalist asks if they agree with Trump that there is “no need” for a ceasefire and instead “peace negotiations” should begin immediately.
Von der Leyon responds first by saying what is most important is to “stop the killing”, rather than the term that is used (whether it as a “ceasefire” or a “peace deal”).
She says it’s important to have a “trilateral meeting” between Ukraine, Russia and the US, adding that it is “very important” for “clear timelines to be kept”. Zelenskyy says he totally agrees with von der Leyen, adding that Kyiv needs the US on its side to guarantee a lasting peace.
Territorial swaps not possible under Ukrainian constitution, Zelenskyy says
These are the main highlights from what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said:
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It is important for Europe to remain as “united” as it was in February 2022 when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion, in order to “stop the killings”.
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It is necessary to agree a ceasefire before working quickly on a “final deal”, something that will be discussed with Donald Trump in Washington tomorrow.
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Ukraine’s constitution makes it impossible to give up territory or to trade land.
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The “territorial issue” should only be discussed between the Ukraine and Russia (with the US as a mediator).
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Zelenskyy says that “Putin has many demands but we do not know all of them”. He says it will take time to go through them, but that it is “impossible to do this under that pressure of weapons”.
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Russia’s “strategic direction” is “anti-European” so we have to limit Russia’s “potential”, Zelesnkyy said.
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There can be no division between Moldova and Ukraine.
Borders cannot be changed by force, von der Leyen says
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, began speaking first. Here are the main takeaways of what she said:
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The EU will support Ukraine for a “just” and “lasting” peace for as long as it takes.
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Ukraine is a sovereign country and it must be able to uphold its territorial integrity.
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There cannot be any limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces.
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Ukraine must be a “steel porcupine” indigestible to ‘“potential invaders”.
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The EU has been working hard to scale up and increase Europe’s defence capability, and Ukraine’s industrial defence base (particularly around drones).
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The EU continues to support Ukraine’s path to its membership to the EU, which in itself is a type of security guarantee.
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She hails Donald Trump’s willingness to offer Ukraine Nato-style security guarantees and says that borders cannot be changed by force. “These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone,” von der Leyen said. “These decisions must not be taken without Ukraine in the table.”
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As long as the bloodshed in Ukraine continues, the EU will continue with economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Russia (the bloc’s 19th economic sanctions package is being prepared).
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen have started their press conference in Brussels.
Friedrich Merz, a key part of the “coalition of the willing” and a staunch ally of Ukraine, posted on X this morning, confirming he would join other European leaders to accompany Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the crucial White House talks on Monday.
The German chancellor said:
Tomorrow I will travel with President Zelenskyy and other European heads of state and government to Washington. We will exchange views with US President Trump on the status of peace efforts, security guarantees, territorial issues, and further support for Ukraine.
The talks are still officially between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but the European leaders have coordinated their presence as a show of support for Ukraine and will help the Ukrainian leader navigate what is a high-stakes and potentially contentious meeting on which Ukraine’s territorial future could hinge.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry has posted a picture of numerous cities located in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region that it says have already been “reduced to ashes by the Russian army”.
In a post on X the ministry urged the US and Kyiv’s other western allies to pursue “strong, coordinated” actions that will deter future Russian aggression.
It wrote:
All these cities were once full of Ukrainians – children, families. Ukrainians whom Russian war criminals have either killed, captured, forcibly transferred, or driven from their homes under relentless attacks – now cynically calling a “brotherly nation”.
Having left nothing but ruins behind, Putin still seeks to seize and destroy more, to turn new cities into the same lifeless wasteland. Russia’s war is not just against Ukraine’s territory – it is against the very right of Ukrainians to exist.
All these cities are located in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the so-called #Donbas.
All these cities have been already reduced to ashes by the Russian army.
All these cities were once full of Ukrainians – children, families. Ukrainians whom Russian war criminals have… pic.twitter.com/VJ96DEZDUw
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) August 16, 2025
Vladimir Putin has reportedly told Donald Trump that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk – which make up the Donbas – he would halt further advances and freeze the frontline in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces occupy significant areas.
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen welcomed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the European Commission’s head office in Brussels on Sunday.
Von der Leyen and Zelenskyy are due to hold a joint news conference later in the day.
Zelensky has already arrived in Brussels, where he met with Ursula von der Leyen. Later, they will take part in the meeting of leaders of the “Coalition of the Willing.” pic.twitter.com/MChMVZnwvw
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) August 17, 2025
Keir Starmer to join European leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in White House on Monday
Keir Starmer will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders for a meeting with US President Trump at the White House on Monday, Downing Street has said.
In a statement, Downing Street said:
This follows the prime minister commending President Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, reasserting his position that a path to peace cannot be decided without President Zelenskyy and co-chairing a meeting of the coalition of the willing this afternoon to discuss progress to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees in the event of any deal.
At the meeting that will take place at the White House tomorrow, the prime minister, with other European leaders, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue for as long as it takes.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson will virtually attend Sunday’s meeting with the coalition of the willing before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington on Monday, a spokesperson from the prime minister’s office told Reuters.
Kristersson will however not fly to Washington with Zelenskyy alongside other European leaders on Monday, the spokesperson said.
Italian prime minister due to travel to Washington on Monday
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is also due to travel to Washington tomorrow, her office has said.
Meloni, who has been labelled as “Europe’s Trump whisperer” and has spent time at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home, was the only European leader invited to his inauguration in January.
Trump has described the Italian prime minister, a supporter of Ukraine, as “a wonderful person”.
