European leaders are to join the Ukrainian president during a visit that seeks a path to ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to allow the U.S. and Europe to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate.

European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Donald Trump in Washington, they said on Sunday (Aug 17), seeking to shore up Zelenskiy's position as the US president presses Ukraine to accept a quick peace deal to end Europe's deadliest war in 80 years.

I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,” Witkoff said.

EXCLUSIVE: First Lady Melania Trump wrote a “peace letter" to Russian President Vladimir Putin telling him “it is time" to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital has learned.

The meeting represented a diplomatic victory for Putin after Western leaders ostracized him at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just a week earlier, Trump was threatening him with new sanctions.

Putin strolled down a red carpet on the tarmac at Elmendorf Air Force Base, met with Trump’s applause and a guard of honour. As they posed for pictures, F-22 fighters and a B-2 bomber flew overhead. A Russian vehicle waited on the tarmac for Putin,