Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is actively pursuing a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the upcoming G7 summit in Canada, set for 15-17 June in Kananaskis, Alberta.
The Zelenskyy-Trump G7 meeting is reportedly being coordinated following a recent high-level visit by Ukrainian officials to Washington, according to Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s Chief of Staff.
“Our visit was part of the preparation, including for what I believe will be a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, which is taking place in 10 days’ time. This was a key step in preparing for this conversation,” Yermak said.
The Ukrainian delegation’s trip to the U.S. capital wasn’t solely about the potential Trump-Zelenskyy G7 meeting. Yermak confirmed that officials also engaged in critical discussions regarding continued military support as Ukraine fends off Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“There is a shared understanding on this issue; we need to keep working. President Zelenskyy clearly outlined our position: Under the signed agreement on economic cooperation, we are also ready to buy some of the equipment, especially missile defence systems, etc.,” Yermak said.
The push comes at a time when U.S. lawmakers are reviewing a proposed sanctions package targeting Russia and nations still purchasing Russian energy.
The Ukrainian team met with key senators, including Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal, who are advocating for a bipartisan bill that would impose steep tariffs on Russian energy imports.
“We hope this new sanctions package will be adopted. But even the process that should begin in the Senate next week will be a very important signal, because everyone understands what it’s about. It’s quite clearly about reducing Russia’s revenues from energy exports, primarily oil,” Yermak noted.
The sanctions discussions are intended to bolster Ukraine’s resistance and reduce Moscow’s funding channels.
In a recent interview with ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Zelenskyy responded sharply to Trump’s earlier comments, in which he likened the Russia-Ukraine war to “two young children fighting like crazy.”
“We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park. He is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids,” Zelenskyy stated.
He added that the conflict is far too serious to be trivialised: “It’s not about President Trump; it’s about any person who is not here in the country, who cannot feel fully and understand this pain.”
With global tensions still high and the war in Ukraine grinding on, the possibility of a Zelenskyy-Trump G7 meeting carries significant diplomatic weight. It could reshape narratives around international aid, sanctions policy, and Western unity against Russian aggression. As the G7 summit nears, the world will be watching closely.
Notably, this G7 meeting follows the Zelenskyy-Trump meeting at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, which stirred international attention and signalled a possible thaw in their diplomatic engagement.
