European leaders had hoped that Putin’s absence from the Istanbul negotiations he proposed would finally force Trump’s hand. Instead of aligning with Europe to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow, Trump opted to “reward his Russian colleague with a personal meeting that he has long desired.

Trump seeks a meeting with Putin to discuss the Ukraine war after skipping peace talks. Zelenskyy accuses Russia of not being serious about ending the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the delegation will be led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Zelenskyy himself will not attend the meeting.