Zelensky in Washington With European Leaders as Trump Dials Putin from the White House
An extraordinary gathering of European leaders joins Zelensky in urging safeguards for Ukraine, amid fears Trump’s rush for a deal could hand Putin lasting gains
President Volodymyr Zelensky met President Trump and an extraordinary lineup of European leaders at the White House on Monday, seeking to defend Ukraine’s interests as Trump pressed for a rapid peace deal with Russia. According to the New York Times, Trump even phoned Vladimir Putin while Zelensky and his European counterparts were still inside the White House — underscoring fears in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine’s future could be decided without it.
The leaders huddled for hours in the East Room, with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz pressing for a ceasefire, while Trump floated vague “security guarantees” but offered few specifics. Zelensky, dressed in a black suit instead of his trademark military fatigues, called for guarantees with real protection on land, sea, and air.
The gathering — joined by Britain’s Keir Starmer, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Finland’s Alexander Stubb, and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen — reflected alarm among allies that Trump’s embrace of Putin in Alaska had handed the Russian leader a major diplomatic win. European officials warned that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, he could seek more territory by force.
I provided some further analysis as the leaders met with Trump in this video from the heart of Europe, Rome
From a Fox News analyst to a key member of President Trump's team, one woman took center stage as she charmed Vladimir Putin at yesterday's Alaska summit. Monica Crowley made the Russian leader beam as they shook hands shortly before he took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. She may not be as famous as Trump or have as much sway in decision-making as some of his cabinet members, but Crowley plays a vital role in all of the President's major US-hosted events. As Chief of Protocol, it's the former journalist's job to make sure that diplomatic proceedings run smoothly and every person is standing in their assigned spot. Crowley would have been in charge of coordinating with a foreign ambassador and the American Embassy overseas to make sure Putin's arrival was perfect, according to the State Department.
It would have been her job to create a detailed program for Putin's visit, including arranging the vital meeting between the two countries to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. Crowley also accompanies the president on all his official visits, makes sure everything is paid for, and ensures things, such as flags, are in the right order. Although it is unclear what exactly Crowley planned for Putin while he visited The Last Frontier State, she was seen sending him off as he boarded his plane following the Friday summit. Trump nominated her for the role in early December, as well as for the assistant secretary of state and an ambassador role. She was sworn in on May 30. She will also be in charge of America's 250th Birthday and the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 - Daily Mail
Nearly half of the active Starlink satellite terminals supplied to Ukraine have ended up in territories fully or partially occupied by Russia, raising concerns about potential misuse, according to a report by the U.S. Office of Inspector General. The terminals were supplied by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX corporation, which produces them. Ukraine has relied on Starlink to restore internet access and power to hospitals, schools and emergency services during widespread blackouts caused by Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.
According to the report, USAID failed to establish adequate safeguards for more than 5,000 terminals it delivered to Ukraine's government following Russia's February 2022 invasion. The agency purchased 1,508 terminals while SpaceX donated 3,667. Ukraine's Special Communications Service distributed them without tracking or usage restrictions, which "increased the risk of misuse for military or intelligence operations or theft by Russian forces," the Inspector General's report claims. Public section of the report do not provide direct evidence that Russian forces actually used the terminals. Some parts of the document are redacted and are considered classified - Kyiv Independent
Watch my live, prime time CNN interview from very early Monday morning, where we connect the dots from the Trump-Putin Alaska summit and the White House meetings today./
As the Qatari prime minister visits Egypt, a Hamas source says the group “informed the mediators” of approving their proposal for a Gaza ceasefire deal. US President Donald Trump says Israeli captives in Gaza will only be released “when Hamas is confronted and destroyed”. Amnesty International says Israel is “carrying out a deliberate campaign of starvation” in the Gaza Strip as hunger kills more Palestinians. Israel is intensifying attacks on Gaza’s largest city before plans to seize it, with at least 19 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks since dawn on Monday - Al Jazeera
The US State Department has halted visitor visas, including medical-humanitarian visas, for children from Gaza, amid a full policy review. The suspension specifically impacts critically ill and wounded children seeking urgent treatment in the US. The move came after pressure from far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer, who posted videos falsely portraying the children as a “security threat”. Loomer said she raised the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after which the suspension was announced. Rubio defended the decision, citing concerns about alleged links between aid groups and Hamas, without providing any evidence of the claims. The move has triggered widespread condemnation from humanitarian organisations including Heal Palestine and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, who stressed that the programme only brings children temporarily to the US for treatment before they return home. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza urgently require care unavailable in the battered enclave, and rights groups have denounced the halt as inhumane and politically motivated.
The decision to cut visas comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza, with the UN warning that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in Israeli-induced, famine-related deaths - Al Jazeera
US trading partners grew increasingly restless over the slow pace of finalizing tariff-relief deals with Washington. A mammoth agreement with the European Union — the outlines of which were announced last month — is being held up by American demands that Brussels water down its laws regulating Big Tech, the Financial Times reported, while officials in the EU, as well as Japan, South Korea, and the UK are still waiting for the White House to follow through on promises for reductions on existing levies, Bloomberg said. For the US, meanwhile, the deals have not been as successful as announced, an economics writer argued in The Atlantic: Much-ballyhooed investment promises look unlikely to fully materialize, while other concessions “don’t add up to much.” - Semafor
Kabul residents have told RFE/RL that they are begging for rice and "ready to accept death," as the World Food Program (WFP) said it was "turning hundreds of thousands of people away" from nutrition centers. WFP Country Director John Aylieff said drought, dramatic aid cuts, and the forced return of 1.5 million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan had combined to create "rising acute malnutrition" in the poverty-stricken country. "We need to do everything we can to avoid famine," he told RFE/RL. "It could be unprecedented because during the winter, there could be 10 to 15 million people needing food assistance. And at the moment, we have no funding and there will be no response." For the coming six months, the WFP in Afghanistan said it requires nearly $539 million for all programs to reach the most vulnerable families across the country. But multiple donors have slashed contributions. For 2025, the WFP in Afghanistan said it received some $155 million. This compares with nearly $560 million the year before, and nearly $1.6 billion in 2022. Taliban officials have largely avoided public comment on the hunger crisis, instead making vague remarks blaming foreign actors for the country's general economic hardships - RFE/RL
Private members' club chain Soho House has been snapped up for $2.7bn (£2bn) by a consortium involving Hollywood actor turned investor Ashton Kutcher. The group opened its first club in London in 1995, and now has 46 Soho Houses in Europe, North America and Asia, as well a string of other up-market hospitality businesses. It is widely regarded as being a popular haunt of A-list celebrities, and one of its London venues was reportedly where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first date. But since it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021 the value of its shares has dropped sharply, as it struggled to make a profit amid a sense that it had lost the exclusivity it once had. Its venues include Shoreditch House, Soho Farmhouse, Soho House Bangkok and Miami Poolhouse. In addition to the Soho House clubs, the group's other businesses include eight Soho Works office buildings, and Scorpios Beach Clubs in Mykonos and Bodrum. However, this expansion had resulted in accusations that Soho House was no longer as exclusive as members would expect given its membership fee, which can run into several thousand pounds - BBC
An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas a record A$90m (£43m; $59m) for illegally sacking more than 1,800 ground workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia's Transport Workers' Union said it welcomed the penalty, which is the largest imposed by a court for violations of industrial relations laws in the country's history. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said in the judgement that he wanted the fine to act as a "real deterrence" to other employers.The airline said in a statement that it has agreed to pay the fine and that the ruling holds it accountable for actions that caused "real harm" to its employees. The fine is the largest financial penalty issued to an Australian company under the Fair Work Act, which sets out rules for workers and employees - BBC
Rachel Maddow is confused by MSNBC’s soon-to-be new name “MS Now,” which was announced Monday amid the network’s separation from NBCUniversal. “I will admit to having no idea how to pronounce ‘MS NOW’ (and I’m still not all that sure about pronouncing ‘Versant,’ either),” Maddow told Variety of the change and MSNBC’s new parent company Versant. She does think the separation itself is “good for us,” however. She explained, “What NBC doing in its legacy timeslots... is just a world away from the 24/7 totally independent news operation that we’re able to stand up now, thanks to the spin-off.” MSNBC acknowledged that the name change may be jarring to some viewers in a statement Monday. “For our viewers who have watched us for decades, it may be hard to imagine this network by any other name. We understand. But our promise to you remains as it always has. You know who we are, and what we do.” Trying to find the bright side, Maddow added, “We’re at least dropping our syllable count from five to three!“ which she called, ”An efficiency gain!” - Daily Beast
The journals…
