Trump, Zelenskyy to meet at White House before Graham funeral

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 28, 2026 13:54 IST

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are due to meet at the White House on Tuesday before attending Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral, in what will be their second meeting this month. The talks come as Republican leaders try to move Graham's sanctions bill against Russia and after far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has influence with Trump, said a visit to Ukraine changed her view of the war.

Zelenskyy is travelling to Washington to honour Graham, whose final act as a public official was a visit to Kyiv to secure agreement on a sanctions package aimed at countries buying Russian oil, gas and other exports. The meeting also comes after Zelenskyy warned that Russia had been helping Iran, a charge Trump played down while saying he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Loomer said she saw Moscow's attacks firsthand while travelling through Ukraine and interviewed Zelenskyy during her visit. She said she had been "bamboozled by Russian propaganda" and told The Associated Press that she spoke to Trump after meeting Zelenskyy last week. She also said she expects to meet the US president after returning from the trip. "It's looking good for Ukraine, right?" Loomer said. "Going into this meeting next week at the Oval Office is looking pretty good."

Earlier this month, Zelenskyy said Russia had been helping Iran by capturing satellite imagery of US bases in the Gulf region that later appeared in Iran. He said there was a "clear correlation" between Russia's images and later Iranian strikes. "The purpose is clear," Zelenskyy said earlier this month. "None of us in the world should turn a blind eye to one very simple fact: Evil always seeks ways to make things worse and spread further."

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday as he travelled to Michigan, Trump played down the impact of any such Russian assistance. "I don't think they've been doing it, certainly not at a high level," he said. "And if they have, it has been very un-impactful." He added that he would raise the matter with Putin.

Zelenskyy is also scheduled to go to the Capitol after Graham's funeral at Washington Cathedral to meet senators on Tuesday evening, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorised to speak publicly. Republican leaders are hoping to advance Graham's sanctions legislation this week, although the Senate is handling several other priorities before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess.

The bill has support from dozens of lawmakers in both parties and is seen as the main policy tribute to Graham, who died unexpectedly this month from a tear in his aorta. It would impose tariffs on goods from the world's top five buyers of Russian oil or natural gas, including China and India. The legislation also includes sanctions against Putin, senior Russian political and military leaders, and Russian financial institutions and energy projects.

Trump and Zelenskyy last met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month, when Trump said the US would give Ukraine a licence to make Patriot air defence systems, a long-standing request from Kyiv to counter Russian missile attacks. Trump said the systems were costly and in high demand, but added that he and Zelenskyy had "actually developed a good relationship" and that the US would help Ukraine produce the Patriots so it could make them "pretty quickly". Tuesday's meeting and Zelenskyy's Capitol visit will bring together those strands of diplomacy, sanctions and military support.

With PTI Inputs

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