Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seems to have preemptively dismissed President Donald Trump’s proposed conditions for a peace deal with Russia as the two prepare for a significant discussion in the Oval Office.

Trump outlined his stipulations on Sunday evening, urging Zelensky to cede Crimea and abandon his aspirations for NATO membership ahead of Monday’s highly anticipated meeting at the White House. Zelensky makes his return to Washington, DC, following their notable confrontation last February.

This time, unlike his previous visit, Zelensky will have the support of the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, all of whom will accompany him to Washington. Trump released a striking statement suggesting Zelensky could ‘end the war with Russia almost immediately,’ which Zelensky promptly rejected within an hour and a half.

‘President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social about 9.20pm.

‘Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!’

In response, Zelensky took to X to insist ‘Russia must end this war, which it itself started,’ railing against Trump’s suggestion that he was solely responsible for ending the conflict.

‘Ukrainians are fighting for their land, for their independence. Now, our soldiers have successes in Donetsk and Sumy regions,’ he wrote.

Zelensky also indicated he would not acquiesce with Trump on Crimea, territory which Russia annexed in 2014 and has been furiously defending during the three-year war.

President Donald Trump has issued an extraordinary rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, telling him he can ‘end the war with Russia’

 It is feared Zelensky could be strong-armed by the President on Monday into accepting these terms or risk losing American support. Pictured: Zelensky and President Trump meet at the Oval Office in February

Several homes were destroyed in the latest attacks on Ukraine 

‘We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting,’ Zelensky wrote.

‘Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East – part of Donbas – and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack. 

‘Of course, Crimea should not have been given up then, just as Ukrainians did not give up Kyiv, Odesa, or Kharkiv after 2022.’

Zelensky took a lighter note while addressing Trump, taking pains to not criticise the president directly. 

‘I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, everyone in America, and every partner and ally for their support and invaluable assistance,’ he added.

Meanwhile, fighting is still raging on in Ukraine. Kharkiv, which has been a constant target since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, was hit by missiles and drones overnight in another wave of attacks that left civilians dead and homes destroyed.

Local officials said three people were killed, including a two-year-old boy, and at least 17 were wounded. Graphic images have shown emergency crews carrying the lifeless body of a child. 

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the toddler was killed in a drone strike that struck early on Monday, only hours after a ballistic missile had slammed into the city on Sunday night. He wrote on Telegram that the number of injured was ‘continuously increasing’.

Kharkiv, which has been a constant target since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, was hit by missiles and drones overnight in another wave of attacks that left civilians dead

Despite the ongoing push for peace, Putin has been persistent in his attacks on Ukraine. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov confirmed two more people had been killed, while 17 others were hurt in the double strike. 

He added: ‘A woman has just been rescued from under the rubble: she is alive,’ warning that more victims could still be trapped.

The earlier ballistic missile strike shattered around 1,000 windows in Kharkiv, according to Synehubov. 

Ukraine’s state emergency service said some residents had to be evacuated as buildings were left unsafe.

Reuters reporters in the city saw paramedics treating people on the streets and rescue teams inspecting damage to residential blocks.

The wider region was also pounded. Two people were wounded in neighbouring Sumy, where officials said at least a dozen houses and an education centre were wrecked. Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional administration, said on Telegram: ‘The enemy continues to deliberately target civilian infrastructure in the Sumy region – treacherously, at night.’

Meanwhile, although Zelensky expressed gratitude for both Trump and America in his statement, there were concerns across Europe that his meeting with Trump on Monday could end poorly. 

Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Finland are rallying around the Ukrainian president and will join him in Washington for the highly anticipated meeting amid fears he is walking into a trap. 

The meeting comes days after Trump met with Putin for a two-and-a-half hour discussion in Alaska about the ongoing conflict 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

In a sign of EU leaders’ bullishness, French president Emmanuel Macron said afterwards: ‘If we’re not strong today, we’ll pay dearly tomorrow.’ 

Their pledge to be at Zelensky’s side is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the last one in February, when Trump berated Zelensky in a heated Oval Office encounter.

At the time, the Ukrainian leader was asked to leave the White House by top Trump advisors following the heated confrontation.

‘You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have,’ Trump told Zelensky. 

Vice President JD Vance chimed in, demanding that Zelensky show gratitude – asking, ‘Have you said ”thank you” once?’

‘The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt,’ said retired French General Dominique Trinquand.

‘It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump.’

Trump appeared unfazed by the EU leaders’ decision to join Zelensky to send him a message, writing on Truth Social on Sunday night: ‘Big day at the White House tomorrow. 

‘Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!’

He added: ‘The Fake News will say that it is a big loss for President Trump to host so many great European Leaders at our beautiful White House. Actually, it is a great honor for America!!!’ 

The leaders will begin to arrive at the White House at 12noon EST (17:00 BST). Trump and Zelensky are due to meet at 1pm ET, with a bilateral discussion to take place at 1.15pm. At 13:15, Trump will meet and greet the rest of the European leaders. 

By 3.00pm, Trump is due to host multilateral meetings with leaders from the EU. Details of when the meeting is expected to end has not been revealed yet.

Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to ‘shape this fast-evolving agenda.’ 

The meeting comes days after Trump met with Putin for a two-and-a-half hour discussion in Alaska about the ongoing conflict. 

Afterwards, Trump admitted he and Putin could not strike a deal on the crisis, but insisted: ‘We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to.

‘We didn’t get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.’ 

The UK’s Keir Starmer, alongside other EU leaders, will be on hand to back up Zelensky as he faces Trump

Emmanuel Macron will also travel to Washington to support president Zelensky 

After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all-but-abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin’s agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. 

Diplomatic sources said that Friday’s summit paved the way for a deal in which Ukraine would be expected to surrender large swathes of the Donbas region in the east of the country, including areas currently controlled by Kyiv. 

While Russia has taken most of Luhansk, it only holds about 75 per cent of Donetsk, which is both vital for the nation’s defence and also home to many of the rare-earth minerals Putin craves.

He has also taken about 74 per cent of the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Zelensky earlier pushed back against Trump’s assertion — which aligned with Putin’s preference — that the two sides should negotiate a complete end to the war, rather than first securing a ceasefire. 

This would allow Putin to continue his deadly strikes until a full peace deal was achieved. 

Zelensky said a ceasefire would provide breathing room to review Putin’s demands.

‘It’s impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons,’ he said. ‘Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.’

Despite the push for peace, Putin has been persistent in his attacks on Ukraine

On Sunday, Trump’s former vice-president Mike Pence insisted Putin was ‘the bad guy’ and should be treated as such during negotiations.]

He said he knew Trump liked to use a ‘velvet glove’ style in dealing with dictators, but added: ‘The hammer needs to come and it needs to come immediately.’ 

Pence told CNN that as well as meeting Zelensky, Trump should call for another sanctions bill against Russia to be passed ‘immediately’ in the Senate.

He also gave Trump credit for pursuing his earlier ceasefire deal despite ‘many voices in and around the administration that would have cut Ukraine loose months ago.’