Published on, Aug. 19 -- August 19, 2025 6:58 AM

The White House played host on Monday to one of the most consequential, and contentious, summits of the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Washington seeking reassurance that U.S. backing hasn't wavered. He didn't come alone. As many as seven European leaders arrived with him in a striking show of unity, laced with a straightforward message: Ukraine cannot, and must not, be forced into a peace deal that surrenders its sovereignty.

Donald Trump appears to have had a different script. Fresh off his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, he once again suggested that Zelenskyy could "end the war almost immediately." What he would not say out loud was how that would entail forgetting ...