Former Attorney General Bill Barr’s closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee wrapped after over four hours on Monday, and lawmakers on opposite sides of the aisle had very different interpretations of how it went.

Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., who represented committee Democrats during the staff-led sit-down, said they were left with ‘more questions now’ than before Barr’s deposition began.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., the lone Republican present, said Barr ‘shed a lot of light’ on the Epstein case and said he ‘answered all the questions’ presented to him.

Both sides only spoke with reporters partway through Barr’s testimony, which began at 10 a.m. Monday. Fox News Digital witnessed him leaving roughly 30 minutes before 3 p.m.

‘I think the Democratic side is doing most of the heavy lifting, and I don’t think we’re learning much from the questioning from the House Republicans,’ Subramanyam said. 

‘It doesn’t seem like this is something where they are truly caring about the victims and about trying to get to the bottom of what’s happening.’

Crockett said, ‘It seems like they are going through the motions, and they want people to believe that they are digging in. But at the end of the day, I don’t think that we’ve learned anything through the Republican questioning that you couldn’t find in one of the articles that most likely your outlets have printed.’

Comer told reporters later by contrast, ‘Our goal with this investigation is to be transparent.’

He even lauded Democrats for taking the matter ‘seriously,’ adding, ‘This is a bipartisan investigation, and hopefully, we’ll be able to get the answers the American people want and deserve.’

When asked about the Democratic lawmakers’ attacks on Republicans’ line of questioning, however, Comer accused them of playing politics with the situation.

‘It’s unfortunate the Democrats are trying to, it seems to me, politicize this. When you look at the basis of this, horrific crimes against young girls, and, of course, the Democrats’ goal is to try to dig up some type of dirt on President Trump,’ Comer said.

He said Republican staff were ‘asking a lot of tough questions’ and accused Democrats of operating on a double standard.

‘I don’t ever remember the Democrats subpoenaing a former Democrat attorney general for anything,’ he said.

Comer accused Democrats of trying to create a ‘false narrative’ connecting Trump and Epstein, after Subramanyam floated the possibility of a ‘cover-up’ by Trump and his allies.

‘This is a serious investigation. This is a sincere investigation. I hope this will be a bipartisan investigation. I would encourage my Democrat colleagues not to politicize this,’ Comer said.

‘I think General Barr answered a lot of questions that probably burst their bubble with respect to, he had never communicated with President Trump on a potential Epstein list or anything else. And he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump.’

Barr arrived on Capitol Hill nearly an hour before his scheduled deposition, only quipping that the ‘early bird gets the worm’ in response to a flurry of reporter questions.

He was similarly soft-spoken on his way out, even as Fox News Digital and others questioned what he told House investigators.

Barr only said ‘absolutely’ when asked if he had a good conversation Monday.

A source familiar with his deposition told Fox News Digital that Barr ‘made clear that President Trump never provided any views or instructions related to the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein or his death, and that he never saw any evidence suggesting President Trump committed a crime.’

‘He further stated that he believed the Biden Department of Justice would have released any incriminating evidence against President Trump if such evidence existed,’ said the source, who described Barr as ‘cooperative.’

Barr is the first of several people who were subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee after Republicans and Democrats voted to direct Comer to open the probe last month.

Several other former attorneys general, ex-FBI directors, and even former First Couple Bill and Hillary Clinton were also subpoenaed.

Fox News Digital reached out to Barr’s lawyer for comment but did not immediately hear back.

President Donald Trump predicted Monday that European allies would bear the brunt of responsibility providing Ukraine certain security guarantees to prevent Russian aggression, but that the U.S. would also help them. 

Trump’s comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with other European leaders, visited Washington, D.C., to advance peace talks to end the war in Ukraine just days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

‘President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. And this is one of the key points that we need to consider,’ Trump said Monday during a meeting with European leaders at the White House. ‘And, we’re going to be considering that at the table. Also, like who will do what? Essentially, I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine.’ 

‘I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden,’ Trump said. ‘We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center. Pretty obvious. Very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiating positions.’

Trump said Sunday that Ukraine could end the war immediately if it agreed to cede Crimea to Russia, and abandon its bid for NATO membership. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff also said Sunday that Putin has agreed to allow the U.S. and other European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, similar to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.

Likewise, Trump said earlier Monday that he hadn’t ruled out the possibility that U.S. troops could be dispatched to Ukraine following a peace negotiation to deter Russian aggression to support other European allies bolstering security for Ukraine. Although he refrained from sharing specific details, Trump said that the U.S. is ‘going to help them out also. We’ll be involved.’ 

For his part, Zelenskyy said U.S. backing on security guarantees is critical to delivering stability to Ukraine. 

‘Security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us in our hearts,’ Zelenskyy said Monday. 

‘We spoke about it and we will speak more about security guarantees,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘This is very important that the United States gives such strong signal and is ready for security guarantees.’ 

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe is aware that it will shoulder much of the weight of responsibility tied to various security guarantees — and acknowledged it is necessary in order to preserve each respective country’s safety. 

‘In order to have such a long-standing peace for Ukraine and for the whole continent, we do need the security guarantees,’ Macron said. ‘And the first one is clearly a credible Ukrainian army. For the years and decades to come. And the second one is our own commitments. All of us… You can be sure that the Europeans are very lucid about the fact that they have their fair share in the security guarantees for Ukraine, but their own security is clearly at stake in this situation.’

President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, to begin coordinating next steps in the peace process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. 

The president posted on his Truth Social platform Monday evening saying that he had called Putin at the conclusion of a day of meetings to begin ‘the arrangements for a meeting’ between the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart. Trump’s call to Putin mirrored his decision to call Zelenskyy following Friday’s Alaska summit with Putin. 

‘At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,’ Trump confirmed, following media reports hinting at the call.

The president added that after the meeting between the two warring presidents, there would be a trilateral meeting with the United States as well. 

‘After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,’ the president continued. ‘Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.’

Yury Ushakov, a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Trump and Putin were on the phone for about 40 minutes and held a ‘candid and very constructive’ dialogue, according to CNN.

Putin ‘expressed support for direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine,’ Ushakov reportedly added.

Officials familiar with Monday’s talks also reportedly said Trump’s call to Putin came in-between talks with the European leaders present at the White House. Meanwhile, one of those leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, reportedly said Putin agreed in the call with Trump to meet Zelenskyy in two weeks. 

Earlier in the day, Trump was caught in a hot-mic moment telling French President Emmanuel Macron that Putin wants to find a resolution to bring the war in Ukraine to an end for him.

‘I think [Putin] wants to make a deal,’ Trump whispered to Macron in the East Room as they were preparing for Monday’s talks. ‘I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.’

Following Monday’s talks, Zelenskyy thanked Trump and all the other leaders present in D.C. for their work in trying to bring peace to his country, noting that the talks were ‘long and detailed.’  

‘Today, important negotiations took place in Washington. We discussed many issues with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions about the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer,’ Zelenskyy said in a post on X Monday night.

‘We appreciate the important signal from the United States regarding its readiness to support and be part of these guarantees. A lot of attention today was given to the return of our children, to the release of prisoners of war and civilians held by Russia. We agreed to work on this,’ Zelenskyy continued. ‘The U.S. President also supported a meeting at the level of leaders. Such a meeting is necessary to resolve sensitive issues.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on this but did not receive a response.

I’m with President Trump: ‘There’s no deal until there’s a deal.’

And now that he has changed his stance and is openly siding with Vladimir Putin, despite vehement objections from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited the White House yesterday, a deal seems rather elusive.

Putin’s interest in peace is underscored by his continued bombardment of Ukraine, the country he illegally invaded, with the latest round killing 10 people. Which is to say the Kremlin dictator has no conceivable interest in peace, except on his maximalist terms.

Look, I’m rooting for Trump. If he can somehow square the circle of this brutal and bloody war, and bring things to an end, he will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. And Hillary said she’d nominate him.

But the negative reviews of the Alaska sitdown has rankled Trump and prompted him to lash out at Fake News on Truth Social:

‘If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!’

Okay, he doesn’t like the press. Except we now know, thanks to his in-flight comments to Fox’s Bret Baier, that he enjoys the sparring, likening it to a golf game. The reporters are all trying to get him to make a mistake. If he makes no breaking news, he wins. If he does say something that’s breaking news, he didn’t put the ball in the hole and they’ve got him. 

I watched Sunday morning as Zelenskyy and top European officials said only Russia can end the war and that Ukraine would not be surrendering the Donbas region, home to more than 200,000 people.  

As Gen. Wesley Clark told me on ‘Media Buzz,’ once you get past the Donbas region, it’s a ‘straight shot’ to Kyiv, so the brave Ukrainians, who have held off the far bigger Russian war machine, would be defenseless. 

It’s mildly encouraging that media reports say Putin has accepted the need for security forces to protect Ukraine, meaning the Europeans – and the U.S. – would send troops for a peacekeeping unit.

When special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in the room during the Putin session, was asked about Trump’s change of position, I thought he’d deny it, but he didn’t. That confirms the stories are true, and certainly complicates matters.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said over the weekend that Trump ‘said himself that a ceasefire was his absolute most important and highest priority. So, it was a joint demand, which isn’t happening now. We would have indeed hoped for a cease-fire first. The Russian side was obviously unwilling to do that.’

So what exactly is Putin giving up? Nothing, as far as I can see. Every day without a cease-fire is another day that the indicted war criminal gets to cement his battlefield gains.

And, under these circumstances, Trump expects Ukraine’s president to join in a trilateral meeting with him and Putin? 

Responding to Fox’s Peter Doocy, Trump said: ‘I think if everything works out well today, we’ll have a trilat and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.’ 

Zelenskyy, who repeatedly praised Trump–he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice after getting kicked out of the White House following his meltdown back in February–reminded reporters that ‘we live under, each day, attacks. You know, that today have been a lot of attacks and a lot of wounded people. And the child was dead, small one, one year and half.

‘So we need to stop this war, to stop Russia. And we need to support American and European partners that will do our best, for this. So, and I think we show that we are strong people and we supported the idea of the united system of personnel, President Trump to stop this war, to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war. And we are ready for trilateral as presidents.’

Now that stunned me. He’s willing to sit down with Putin and Trump after insisting on a cease-fire first – which was also the president’s position until he flipped and abandoned it after the sitdown with the indicted war criminal?

So what was the mood afterward?

‘I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine,’ Trump said. He added, ‘I have a feeling you and President Putin are going to work something out.’

Zelenskyy ‘praised the constructive specific meeting,’ adding: ‘There is a lot of people in prison. So we need them back and guarantees which will work for the years. We spoke about it and I showed president a lot of details on the battlefield, on the map.’ 

But will Putin, who views Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader, attend?

All the chatter about the red carpet and other atmospherics is meaningless. Yes, Zelenskyy wore a suit, albeit a military-style one.

We should all be rooting for Trump. Even if he falls short, and the war drags on, it can only end with a negotiated settlement.

At one point, Trump broke away from the session and called Putin, rather than waiting till afterwards.

Trump posted that this was ‘a very good early step,’ and early may be the operative word. The war could certainly drag on. But it can’t end on the battlefield. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without Trump’s unique preference for leader-to-leader talks, even though he’s now openly siding with Vladimir Putin. Sometimes that produces results and sometimes it doesn’t, as with Kim Jong-un. But it’s given him – and us – a shot. 

President Donald Trump described his White House negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders as ‘a very good, early step’ toward ending the nearly four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, announcing that he has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about arranging a direct meeting with Zelenskyy.

Trump said the group of world leaders held discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, with commitments coming primarily from European nations ‘in coordination with the United States’ in a statement on Truth Social after the meetings.

‘Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,’ Trump said, adding that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are now leading follow-up talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelenskyy signaled he too was ready to meet directly with Putin. 

A Kremlin readout of the Trump-Putin call confirmed the pair ‘discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,’ but did not say whether Putin had agreed. 

Trump outlines next steps

Trump revealed that following the Oval Office meetings he phoned Putin to begin making ‘arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy.’ If that takes place, he said, the next stage would be a ‘Trilat’ — a trilateral meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said he would be open to a meeting with Trump and Putin or a meeting with just Putin next. 

‘We confirmed that we are ready for a trilateral meeting,’ the Ukrainian president told reporters after the meeting. ‘And if Russia proposed to the President of the United States bilateral, and then we will see the result of the bilateral, then it can be trilateral. So I said, always, Ukraine will never stop on the way to peace, and we are ready for any kind of format but on the level of leaders.’

While Trump has previously cast himself as a mediator rather than a dealmaker, the suggestion that Putin is open to meeting face-to-face with Zelenskyy marked the biggest breakthrough in peace negotiations yet. ‘Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,’ he said.

Security guarantees under discussion

The idea of ‘security guarantees’ has long been central to Ukraine’s demands. According to Trump, these would be provided primarily by European states, coordinated with Washington. Ahead of the meetings, Trump had not ruled out U.S. military involvement in the guarantees, but he has since stressed that Europe will bear the primary burden of defending Ukraine.

Trump also reiterated his view that U.S. support should come through arms sales rather than aid packages. ‘We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons,’ he said earlier this week. Ukraine has reportedly floated a proposal to buy as much as $100 billion in U.S.-made weapons with European financing, according to the Financial Times. 

Land swaps may be on the table 

During the meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy were pictured viewing a map outlining the front lines of the war and the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, about 20% of the country. Trump may have used the map to discuss with Zelenskyy which regions he could realistically part with in order to obtain peace. 

According to a source familiar with Zelenskyy’s visit planning, clarity on U.S. and European security guarantees could help the Ukrainian leader make the case domestically for any territorial concessions — a likely core element of talks with Russia. The question of which areas Ukraine could ‘let go’ and which it must retain remains deeply sensitive in Kyiv, where public opinion has hardened after years of fighting and heavy civilian losses.

Russia’s categorical rejection

Moscow strongly opposed the concept of NATO-style guarantees. The Russian foreign ministry released a statement during the White House talks warning that any arrangement involving NATO countries could trigger ‘uncontrolled escalation’ with ‘unpredictable consequences,’ according to state media outlet RIA. That categorical rejection underscores the difficulty of bridging the gap between Ukraine’s security needs and Russia’s demands.

European leaders weigh in

German Chancellor Merz stressed that no meaningful talks could occur without at least a temporary ceasefire.

‘I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,’ Merz said. ‘So let’s work on that and put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of these efforts depends on at least a ceasefire.’

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report. 

After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, President Donald Trump touted that he had a ‘very good meeting’ with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House on Monday.

Trump, who has voiced he would like to put an end to mass bloodshed in Eastern Europe, called the multilateral meetings on Monday ‘a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.’

In a Truth Social post after the discussions, Trump wrote, ‘I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests,’ and that ‘everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.’

Here are the top five takeaways from the president’s ‘big day’ with European leaders.

1. Smiles all around

Monday’s summit marked a dramatic and noticeable shift from Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s now-infamous Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy in February.

During that meeting, the leaders were caught on camera getting into a heated argument over several topics, including Zelenskyy allegedly not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support.

On Monday, all the tension seemed to have disappeared. Both Trump and Zelenskyy were all smiles throughout the day, and the Ukrainian leader received a warm welcome from Trump’s Cabinet, including Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Both Zelenskyy and European leaders appeared more at ease with Trump throughout the day and took an optimistic tone. After the meetings, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, ‘We are here, as allies and friends, for peace in Ukraine and in Europe. This is an important moment, as we continue to work on strong security guarantees for Ukraine and a lasting and durable peace.’

2. Wardrobe upgrade

Another marked shift from February was Zelenskyy breaking from his trademark jumpsuit attire to wear a suit, something he even joked with the press about while sitting in the Oval Office with Trump.

Zelenskyy, who has been criticized for wearing casual attire to meetings with world leaders, wore all-black attire, including a button-down shirt and jacket. 

‘First of all… President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit,’ a reporter told Zelenskyy after he sat down with Trump in the Oval Office. 

‘You look good,’ the reporter said before Trump added, ‘I said the same thing.’ 

At another point during the Zelenskyy-Trump bilateral press meeting, the Ukrainian president ribbed a reporter for wearing the same suit he had in February.

‘You’re in the same suit. You see, I changed, you’re not,’ Zelenskyy quipped as both he and Trump burst into laughter.

3. Ceasefire not needed

On a more substantive note, Trump doubled down on his position that a ceasefire is ‘not needed’ to broker a permanent peace between Ukraine and Russia. He cited his recent successes in negotiating peace agreements between other countries across the globe.

‘I don’t think you need ceasefire. You know, if you look at the six deals that I settled this year, they were all at war,’ Trump said during his press conference with Zelenskyy.

‘I didn’t do any ceasefires,’ he went on, adding, ‘And I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it.’ 

In a rare tense moment during the day, Trump clashed with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the need for a ceasefire.

Speaking with Trump and other leaders gathered around a large conference table in the White House, Merz said, ‘To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire at the latest from the next meeting on,’ adding, ‘I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So, let’s work on that.’

He urged the leaders, ‘Let’s try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of this effort, these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on, at least, a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from the next step on. So, I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place.’

In response, Trump shot back that he is determined ‘to go directly to a peace agreement’ without a ceasefire, saying, ‘Well, we’re going to let the president [Zelenskyy] go over and talk to the president [Putin], and we’ll see how that works out.’

4. United European front

In addition to Zelenskyy, seven major European leaders were present at the White House on Monday, a rare occurrence signaling a united European front and something Trump called an ‘honor’ for the U.S.

This follows Zelenskyy doubling down on Sunday that Ukraine will not agree to cede Crimea or any of its territory to Russia as part of a peace deal.  

‘Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral [talks with] Ukraine, United States, Russia,’ Zelenskyy said.

Trump said that though the U.S. would be involved with providing Ukraine with security guarantees after the war’s end, he said going forward, Europe must take much of that ‘burden.’

‘I think that the European nations are going to take a lot of the burden,’ Trump said. ‘We’re going to help them, and we’re going to make it very secure. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory, taking into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war line center. Pretty obvious. Very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiating positions.’

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe is aware that it will shoulder much of the weight of responsibility tied to various security guarantees — and acknowledged it is necessary in order to preserve each respective country’s safety. 

‘In order to have such a long-standing peace for Ukraine and for the whole continent, we do need the security guarantees,’ Macron said. ‘And the first one is clearly a credible Ukrainian army. For the years and decades to come. And the second one is our own commitments. All of us… You can be sure that the Europeans are very lucid about the fact that they have their fair share in the security guarantees for Ukraine, but their own security is clearly at stake in this situation.’

5. Putin on the line

Trump shared that he called Putin after the meetings and that there is already movement on the next step, that is, scheduling a meeting between Zelenskyy and the Russian president. After that meeting, Trump said there would then be a trilateral meeting between Zelenskyy, Putin and himself.

‘At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,’ wrote Trump.

In another post, Trump called the summit ‘a big day at the White House.’

‘We have never had so many European Leaders here at one time. A great honor for America!!!’ he wrote. ‘Lets see what the results will be???’ 

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy, Emma Colton and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, who identifies as a transgender woman, accused President Donald Trump of waging an attack against ‘American democracy.’

‘This president is taking notes from his favorite dictator. Let’s be clear: a president with popular policies wouldn’t need to illegally gerrymander districts, ban voting machines, or abolish vote-by-mail,’ a Monday night post on the lawmaker’s @Rep_McBride X account declared. ‘This is an all-out assault not just on free and fair elections—but on American democracy itself.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment early on Tuesday morning.

Trump, who has been aiming to help bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and multiple other European figures in Washington, D.C., on Monday after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

During an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Friday after meeting with Putin, Trump said of the foreign leader, ‘Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can’t have an honest… election with mail-in voting.’

Trump declared in a Truth Social post on Monday that he will ‘lead a movement to’ eliminate voting machines and mail-in balloting from U.S. elections.

‘WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT … by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections,’ he declared in part of the lengthy post.

‘ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS. I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS. THE MAIL-IN BALLOT HOAX, USING VOTING MACHINES THAT ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER, MUST END, NOW!!!’ the president exclaimed in another portion of the post.

European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he travels to Washington, D.C., on Monday for a high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. 

On Sunday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb all confirmed their attendance. Their joint presence underscores Europe’s determination to present a united front in support of Ukraine as Russia’s war drags on.

Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy met with von der Leyen at the European Commission in Brussels to set priorities for the White House talks, focusing on long-term military aid, Ukraine’s ambitions to join the EU, and bolstering transatlantic solidarity in the face of Russian aggression.

At a joint press conference, von der Leyen said she was glad to be joining Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington on Monday.

‘We will continue to support you for as long as it takes,’ she said, adding that the EU backs a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States.

She warned that the EU will move forward next month with its 19th sanctions package against Russia if the Kremlin refuses to halt its war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said he hopes the upcoming meeting with Trump ‘will be productive’ and not a repeat of the shouting match that took place in the Oval Office during his February visit.

Zelenskyy’s meeting at the White House comes on the heels of Trump’s summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday, where Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire and urged a final peace deal.

After meeting with Putin, Trump said the Russian leader was willing to end the war in exchange for key Ukrainian territory concessions. Trump said Kyiv should take the deal with Moscow because ‘Russia is a very big power, and they’re not.’

Zelenskyy, alongside European leaders, consistently rejects proposals to surrender any Ukrainian land to Russia.

‘Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral Ukraine, United States, Russia,’ Zelenskyy told reporters at the European Commission on Sunday. ‘So far, Russia has given no sign that the trilateral will happen,’ he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated on Sunday that Kyiv will not surrender any territory to Moscow, pushing back against mounting international speculation about potential land-for-peace negotiations. 

‘The constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land,’ Zelenskyy said during a press conference at the European Commission on Sunday. 

He added that Russia has repeatedly tried and failed to seize the entirety of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for a period of 12 years. The Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, is an industrial hub, with coal mining and steel production central to Ukraine’s economy.

‘Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral [talks with] Ukraine, United States, Russia,’ Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader, who spoke alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, said that so far the Kremlin has ‘given no sign that the trilateral will happen.’ 

‘With regards to any territorial questions in Ukraine, our position is clear: international borders cannot be changed by force. These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone, and these decisions cannot be taken without Ukraine at the table,’ von der Leyen said.

Their remarks came after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday, during which the Russian leader outlined conditions for ending the war, including demands for control over parts of eastern Ukraine.

Following the meeting with the Russian leader, Trump signaled that Zelenskyy should take Putin’s deal to end the war because ‘Russia is a very big power’ and Ukraine is not. Still, SSecretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed claims that Trump would pressure Zelenskyy to give up large swaths of its sovereign land to Russia.

‘The president has said that in terms of territories, these are things that Zelenskyy is going to have to decide on,’ Rubio told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’

‘All the president is trying to do here is narrow down the open issues,’ Rubio said, adding that Trump is focused on ending the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

‘You can’t have a peace deal between two warring factions unless both sides agree to give up something. And both sides agree that the other side gets something. Otherwise, if one side gets everything they want, that’s not a peace deal. It’s called surrender. And I don’t think this is a war that’s going to end anytime soon. On the basis of surrender,’ Rubio said.

Zelenskyy said he hopes the upcoming meeting with European allies and Trump ‘will be productive,’ contrasting it with the heated Oval Office exchange during his February visit.

President Donald Trump fired off insults toward Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., in a Sunday post on Truth Social in response to the senator’s criticism of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The president described Murphy as ‘very unattractive (both inside and out),’ ‘stupid,’ and ‘a lightweight,’ after the senator claimed ‘Putin got everything he wanted’ during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’

Murphy also described the meeting, which was held to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, as ‘a disaster,’ ‘an embarrassment for the United States’ and ‘a failure.’

Murphy shared a clip of his appearance on his X account, captioning the video with more criticism of Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

‘The Putin-Trump meeting was a disaster, as predicted. Putin got everything he wanted: a photo op legitimizing his war crimes, no ceasefire, and no sanctions or new weapons for Ukraine. Trump’s goal was to keep Putin happy. He succeeded,’ Murphy wrote.

Trump pushed back, asserting in his Truth Social post, ‘The very unattractive (both inside and out!) Senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, said ‘Putin got everything that he wanted.’ Actually, ‘nobody got anything,’ too soon, but getting close. Murphy is a lightweight who thinks it made the Russian President look good in coming to America.

‘Actually, it was very hard for President Putin to do so. This war can be ended, NOW, but stupid people like Chris Murphy, John Bolton, and others, make it much harder to do so,’ he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European leaders will meet with Trump in Washington, D.C. on Monday to continue seeking an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

‘Big day at the White House tomorrow. Never had so many European Leaders at one time. My great honor to host them!!!’ Trump said in a separate Sunday night post on Truth Social.

In a third post on Sunday, Trump said Zelenskyy ‘can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.’ 

Trump continued, ‘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!!!’