President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet US President Donald Trump during a visit to the US on July 28, according to diplomatic sources cited by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.
The trip is expected to include Zelensky’s attendance at the funeral of late US Senator Lindsey Graham as well as a direct meeting with Trump, Suspilne reported.
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“Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the US is scheduled for Sunday, July 28. During the trip, the president will attend Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral and meet with President Donald Trump,” Suspilne reported, citing diplomatic sources.
Neither the Ukrainian Presidential Office nor the White House had publicly announced the meeting at the time of publication.
The new report appears to firm up plans that, only a day earlier, were still described as under consideration.
Kyiv Post previously reported that Zelensky had been invited to Graham’s funeral and that Ukrainian officials were working on a possible US visit that could include bilateral talks with Trump. At that stage, Ukrainian officials were considering who might lead the delegation if Zelensky was unable to travel.
Graham, one of Ukraine’s most outspoken supporters in the US Senate, died unexpectedly on July 11 at the age of 71, one day after meeting Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv. Memorial events are scheduled for July 28 in Washington and July 29 in South Carolina.
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During what became Graham’s final visit to Ukraine, he discussed air defense and tougher sanctions against Russia with Zelensky and visited Ukrainian defense manufacturer SkyFall, where he viewed domestically produced drone systems.
The expected Trump-Zelensky meeting would come as Kyiv and Washington intensify diplomatic contacts over efforts to end Russia’s war.
Zelensky recently stated that another trilateral meeting involving representatives of Ukraine, the US and Russia should take place before the autumn.
Earlier this week, Zelensky also held discussions with Trump representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner concerning efforts to revive diplomatic negotiations with Moscow.
The July 28 meeting, if confirmed by the two administrations, would give Zelensky another opportunity to press Ukraine’s priorities with Trump as Washington continues exploring possible formulas for negotiations with Russia.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Manila for talks on ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. After the meeting, Rubio said Washington remained committed to helping bring the war to an end but acknowledged that finding terms acceptable to both Kyiv and Moscow remained difficult, adding that new proposals may be needed after earlier approaches failed to produce a settlement.
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