Vance, Rubio Met Zelensky in Rome Hours Before Critical Trump Call

US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday hosted President Volodymyr Zelensky for a meeting at the US ambassador’s residence in Rome, Kyiv Post’s correspondent who is currently traveling with Secretary of State Marco Rubio reports.

The leaders were joined by Rubio and Ukraine’s Presidential aide Andriy Yermak.

Earlier in the day, Vance and Zelensky also shook hands at the Vatican as the Holy See celebrated the enthronement of Pope Leo XIV. 

This was their first engagement since the controversial Oval Office spat in February.

Following closed-door talks with Zelensky, Vance held a trilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“I would like also to raise the topic of Ukraine,” von der Leyen said in her opening remark. “What unites us is that we want a just and lasting peace. And I know how much you are engaged in ending this war, and thank you for that,” she said. 

She went on to add, “What is important now is certainly that we push that things are moving forward, and I think the next week will be crucial on that.” 

Zelensky also met with several top European leaders in Rome on Sunday, part of stepped-up diplomatic efforts ahead of a critical phone call on Monday between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Back in Washington, White House officials told reporters that while Trump didn’t phone into the Vance-Zelensky meeting on Sunday, he will be speaking with the Ukrainian leader on Monday by phone as he previously announced on social media.

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The intensified diplomacy in Rome came as Russia launched its largest drone barrage against Ukraine in years. The attack targeted the country’s capital as well as Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire.