KYIV — President Donald Trump met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral Saturday, their first face-to-face encounter since their Oval Office blowup in February, and then threatened new sanctions against Russia.
Zelensky used the rare gathering of world leaders in Rome to launch a diplomatic blitz, meeting with several European leaders in an effort to head off a U.S. proposal to end Russia’s war with Ukraine on terms favorable to Moscow.
Trump, meanwhile, took to social media to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for recent missile attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine. It was his second public rebuke of the Russian leader since a missile strike on an apartment building in Kyiv on Thursday killed 12 people and wounded nearly 90 others.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Too many people are dying!!!”
The quiet, one-on-one conversation between Trump and Zelensky in St. Peter’s Basilica came before the funeral of a man who had repeatedly advocated a just end to the war.
The intimate setting in the Vatican contrasted starkly with the chaos in the Oval Office meeting, at which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky before journalists handpicked from conservative outlets.
“Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results,” Zelensky wrote on X after the meeting Saturday. “Thank you @POTUS.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha shared a photo of the moment on X. Trump and Zelensky sit facing each other knee-to-knee, leaning in to talk.
“No words are needed to describe the importance of this historic meeting,” Sybiha wrote. “Two leaders working for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica.”
The Trump administration is attempting to end the war, which has cost hundreds of thousands of lives since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin for the fourth time on Friday.
The United States this month proposed a “final offer”: Washington would recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s strategic Crimean Peninsula and acknowledge other territorial gains, and would ease sanctions if the fighting stopped.
The pro-Russian proposal stunned Ukraine and its European allies. Kyiv insisted on a ceasefire before it would discuss territory. Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled plans to attend high-level meetings scheduled for Wednesday in London, and the meetings were abruptly downgraded.
On Wednesday, Trump said he found Russia easier to work with than Zelensky. Hours later, Russia bombed Kyiv. Europe renewed its support for Ukraine’s position on a ceasefire. Trump then urged Putin on social media to “STOP!”
The White House is trying urgently to fulfill Trump’s campaign pledge to bring a quick end to the war but has thus far failed to achieve progress.
Russia, which maintains a military advantage on the front line, has little reason to stop fighting. The sides agreed in March to refrain from striking each other’s energy infrastructure for 30 days, but they disagreed on the start date and ended up accusing each other of violating the truce.
Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire for Easter, and Kyiv said it would mirror it. The truce briefly halted airstrikes on Ukrainian cities but slowed fighting on the front line only slightly, and Russia promptly resumed its attacks just after midnight Sunday. Moscow did not respond to Ukraine’s request to extend the deal.
European leaders drafted a text to counter the U.S. proposal that addressed some of Ukraine’s major concerns, including the ceasefire. It is not clear whether Washington is willing to consider a new text.
It’s also not clear what document or ultimatums Witkoff might have presented to Putin on Friday. “Putin repeated that the Russian side was ready to resume talks without any preconditions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Saturday.
The statement appeared to suggest Russia was still not prepared to accept a full truce ahead of talks. Such an impasse will be difficult to overcome.
But Europe’s steadfast support for Zelensky was apparent on Saturday. The leader clocked face time with allies from across the continent, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a powerful partner who helped coach him through the aftermath of his White House visit; French President Emmanuel Macron; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Seeing Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky talking about peace at the funeral of the Pope of Peace has a such huge meaning,” Meloni wrote on X. “Today has been a historic day.”
Zelensky was greeted by a huge round of applause as he arrived at the funeral on Saturday.
Other meetings between top Ukrainian and U.S. officials also took place around the funeral. Sybiha, the foreign minister, and Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, met Saturday with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and national security adviser Michael Waltz. “Grateful for the constructive work, ongoing engagement, and the strong partnership between our countries. We keep moving forward,” Yermak wrote.
