Zelensky Brings Backup to the White House as Trump Aligns More Closely With Putin

This time, when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrives in the Oval Office, he will come with backup. ‎ ‎An array of European prime ministers and presidents are flying in for the meeting on Monday to make sure that a viable, defensible Ukraine survives whatever carving up of its territory is about to happen at the negotiating table. ‎ ‎But they are also there to make certain that the trans-Atlantic alliance emerges intact. President Trump’s instant reversal on the critical issue of obtaining a cease-fire before negotiating over land or security guarantees has left many of them shaken, and wondering whether Mr. Trump had once again been swayed by President This time, when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrives in the Oval Office, he will come with backup. ‎ ‎An array of European prime ministers and presidents are flying in for the meeting on Monday to make sure that a viable, defensible Ukraine survives whatever carving up of its territory is about to happen at the negotiating table. ‎ ‎But they are also there to make certain that the trans-Atlantic alliance emerges intact. President Trump’s instant reversal on the critical issue of obtaining a cease-fire before negotiating over land or security guarantees has left many of them shaken, and wondering whether Mr. Trump had once again been swayed by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. ‎ ‎By most accounts, the European officials want to ensure that Mr. Trump has not pivoted too close to the Russian side, and does not try to strong-arm Mr. Zelensky into a deal that will ultimately sow the seeds of Ukraine’s dissolution. And they want to safeguard against the risk of the United States, the linchpin of European security since NATO’s creation in 1949, undermining that interest. ‎ ‎In a call with Mr. Zelensky on Saturday, Mr. Trump offered support for U.S. security assurance for Ukraine after the war, a shift from his stance that Europe should bear the burden of protecting the country, though the specifics were unclear. ‎ ‎At a news conference on Sunday in Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s executive arm, stressed the importance of the security guarantees for Ukraine and respect for its territory. But she also said it was paramount to “stop the killing” and urged talks among the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the United States “as soon as possible.” ‎ ‎One senior European diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of angering Mr. Trump, described a sense of panic among European allies. The diplomat had not seen a meeting like the one set for Monday come together so quickly since just before the Iraq War. ‎ ‎The foremost concern, the diplomat said, was to avoid another scene like the one that took place in February when Mr. Zelensky met with Mr. Trump in front of television cameras at the White House. ‎ ‎At that meeting, Mr. Trump berated the Ukrainian president, saying “you don’t have the cards” in the war — essentially telling a weak foreign power to bend to the demands of a far more powerful one. The president did so again on Friday night, after Mr. Putin flew back to the Russian Far East, telling a Fox News interviewer that Ukraine was going to have to realize that Russia was a more “powerful” country, and that power meant Mr. Zelensky was going to have to make concessions. ‎ ‎On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who sat in on the meetings with Mr. Putin at the American air base outside of Anchorage, disputed the idea that the Europeans were coming as a posse to protect Mr. Zelensky from a repeat of the February shouting match. ‎ ‎“They’re not coming here to keep Zelensky from getting bullied,” Mr. Rubio insisted to Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” ‎ ‎“They are coming here tomorrow because we’ve been working with the Europeans,” he said, listing the many meetings the United States had engaged in before and after the Putin visit. “We invited them to come.” ‎ ‎European officials said on Saturday that Mr. Trump told Mr. Zelensky he was free to bring guests to the meeting, and later the White House extended invitations to several European leaders. ‎ ‎Whatever the motive for the leaders to upend their schedules on short notice, there is little question that elements of the negotiation will test the cohesiveness of the Atlantic alliance. Mr. Putin’s agenda is larger than just seizing part or all of Ukraine. For nearly a quarter-century, his grandest ambition has been to split NATO, dividing the European allies from the United States. ‎ ‎As Europe and Ukraine struggle to navigate Mr. Trump’s sudden reversal of strategy for ending a war that has stretched well past three years, Mr. Putin has a renewed opportunity to realize his dream. The United States and its European allies now appear to be pursuing different negotiating strategies. ‎ ‎The differences have been long brewing. But in the weeks before the Putin meeting, they broke out into the open. “We’re done with the funding of the Ukraine war business,” Vice President JD Vance said flatly a week ago. ‎ ‎The Europeans, however, have promised continued support, through a grouping of countries operating outside of the NATO alliance. They got Mr. Trump to promise to supply weapons, as long as the United States was paid for them from European coffers