RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Straits Times — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 5 sourcesUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arriving at the White House on July 28 for a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Listen Summarise US President Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Zelensky to the White House ahead of Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral, a strong supporter of Ukraine. Zelensky aims to secure urgent air defence aid and discuss missile production licences amid delayed US military support. Improved US-Ukraine relations contrast with Pentagon delays on aid; peace talks with Russia are also a key focus during Zelensky's visit. AI generated
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on July 28 ahead of the funeral of US Senator Lindsey Graham, who forcefully lobbied Washington to back Kyiv in its conflict with Russia.
Zelensky is expected to have a short private meeting with Trump, likely in the absence of reporters, ahead of Graham’s funeral in the afternoon, a source familiar with the plans told Reuters.
The visit offers Zelensky a chance to shore up military support at a moment when US-Ukraine relations are warmer than they have been in months, but the US has been sitting on aid for Kyiv and the loss of Graham has removed one of its most influential advocates in Washington.
The Ukrainian leader will press Trump for urgently needed air defence capabilities and the completion of a drone deal. The two leaders will also likely discuss Trump’s promise at the NATO summit to grant Ukraine a licence to produce Patriot missile interceptors.
After the White House meeting, Zelensky is expected to go to the US Capitol for a meeting with senators.
His visit comes as a letter sent to lawmakers from the Pentagon showed the Trump administration has told Congress it will not finish spending US$400 million (S$516.7 million) authorised for aid to Ukraine until fiscal year 2029, even as Kyiv runs critically low on weapons it needs to fend off Russian missile attacks.
Democrats and some of Trump’s fellow Republicans have criticised the Pentagon for sitting on aid for Kyiv that members of both parties backed in 2025.
Zelensky and Trump clashed repeatedly in the early months of Trump’s second term, but relations between the two have improved in recent months as Ukraine has had greater success in the war, including with increased attacks on Russia’s oil industry.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican who died suddenly from a heart ailment on July 11 at age 71, was one of Trump’s most visible allies. He was a defence hawk who regularly called for an interventionist US role on the world stage and strongly backed Ukraine.
He met with Zelensky in Kyiv only a day before his death, the 10th time he had visited Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The Senate is preparing to vote on a bipartisan package of new sanctions on Russia that Graham spent his final days trying to push across the finish line.
Graham had been running for a fifth term in the Senate after winning the South Carolina Republican primary in June. His sister, Darline Graham, has been appointed to fill the remainder of his term and she has announced her intention to seek a full six-year term in November, with Trump’s endorsement.
Zelensky said as he arrived in Washington that anti-ballistic defence and strategic cooperation with the US were the “number-one priority” for meetings with Trump and his team.
“Peace needs to be brought closer,” he said in a post on X.
A White House official said Trump would discuss the peace process between Russia and Ukraine with the Ukrainian president.
“Now is the time to end the war,” the official said.
Zelensky spoke last week with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the prospects for renewed peace talks with Russia and said that Ukrainian and US officials could meet in the United States in the coming days. REUTERS
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.