Trump, Harris talk with Ukrainian president about future

Former President Donald Trump on Friday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. Trump’s opponent in the Nov. 5 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris, on Thursday met with Zelenskyy at the White House. Trump has claimed in both presidential debates this year that, if he’s elected, he will end the war in Ukraine before he even takes his oath of office.

Zelenskyy has been pitching what he calls a peace formula to U.S. and world leaders this week. The Ukrainian president has demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from his country, quit threatening the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, and respect the Kyiv government’s territorial sovereignty. And on Thursday, the Biden administration rewarded Zelenskyy with nearly $8 billion in military aid in the form of air defense systems and long-range missiles.

What did Zelenskyy and Trump discuss? Trump and Zelenskyy met for 40 minutes, according to the Associated Press. The former president told reporters after the meeting that he and Zelenskyy both wanted the war to end and that Zelenskyy was willing to make a fair transaction for peace. Harris said in a social media statement Thursday that she planned to continue working with Zelenskyy to ensure that Ukraine prevailed in the war.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report in The Sift about how House Speaker Mike Johnson has called for the removal of the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States.