The second Oval Office meeting in six months between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went off smoothly, in sharp contrast to their disastrous encounter in February.

At a recent meeting with his US counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again suggested that full control of Donbas was a central criterion for ending the war in Ukraine. Why is the region so important to him?

The Kremlin's readout came after Trump said earlier Monday that he had begun arranging a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European leaders met at the White House to talk about ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. The meeting followed a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon at the White House, just days after Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin left an Alaska summit without a ceasefire deal.