Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with Donald Trump today that Russia should not be "rewarded" for its invasion after the US president pressured Ukraine to make concessions in exchange for peace.

The talks, which will also involve European leaders, follow the August 15 summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which failed to bring peace to the war that has been going on for three and a half years.

Trump, who after his meeting with Putin abandoned his insistence on a ceasefire in favor of a final peace agreement, said on August 17 that Zelensky could end the war "almost immediately if he wanted to," but that for Ukraine, "there is no turning back" on Crimea and "no entry into NATO."

Kiev and European leaders warned against making political and territorial concessions to Russia, whose attack on Ukraine in February 2022 has led to tens of thousands of deaths, AFP reported.

"Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war. And it is Moscow that must hear the word: 'Stop!'" Zelensky wrote in a Facebook post.

The US president and his Ukrainian counterpart are expected to meet privately before being joined by the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the White House said.

European leaders will also hold a preparatory meeting with Zelensky before talks with Trump, the European Union announced.

Ahead of today's meeting, China called on "all parties" to agree on peace "as soon as possible."

This will be Zelensky's first visit to Washington since the scandal involving Trump and US Vice President Mike Pence in February, when the two accused the Ukrainian president of being "ungrateful."

Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine ahead of the new talks. Between the evening of August 17 and the morning of August 18, Moscow fired at least 140 drones and four ballistic missiles at its neighbor, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

A Russian drone attack on a five-story residential building in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv shortly before dawn killed at least seven people, including a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, authorities said.

Zelensky described the strikes as an attempt to "undermine diplomatic efforts."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Donetsk regions killed two people, according to authorities appointed by Moscow. | BGNES