President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the White House five times prior to Monday’s summit.
Zelensky first visited the White House Sept. 1, 2021, during the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. As per the BBC at the time, then US President Joe Biden reassured Zelensky that the US nevertheless remained “firmly committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian aggression” before Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
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On Dec. 21, 2022, Zelensky returned to Washington – leaving his country for the first time after the full-scale invasion earlier that year. In an emotive address to the US Congress, Zelensky asked for aid, as Biden pledged that the US would continue to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”
On Sept. 21, 2023, Zelensky made a second wartime visit to Washington, visiting Capitol Hill and the Pentagon as well as the White House to appeal for US weapons that he said might be Ukraine’s only “way out” of the war, according to the New York Times at the time.
Zelensky returned to the White House just two months later, on Dec. 11. At a joint press conference, Biden reiterated US support for Ukraine – but noted that with Republicans in the Senate “holding Ukraine funding hostage” to push through border reforms, his ability to provide aid was limited.
Zelensky would not return to Washington until Feb. 28, 2025, by which time Trump had resumed the presidency. The tense encounter between Zelensky, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance quickly made headlines. After Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of disrespect and ingratitude, US military aid to Ukraine was suspended, pushing Kyiv-Washington relations to new lows before the two restored ties in recent months.
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