The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska, and they're looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow.
Monday's showing is a sign both of the progress and the possible distress coming out of the Friday summit, as many of Europe's leaders are descending on Washington with the explicit goal of protecting Ukraine's interests, a rare and sweeping show of diplomatic force.
With Zelenskyy and several European leaders in town for hastily arranged meetings, the area around the White House bulged with security.
A line of black SUVs stretched up 16th Street from Lafayette Park. Motorcycle cops stood by.
Some roads were blocked off by police and dump trucks, and there were extra checkpoints to screen people approaching the White House.
Pennsylvania Avenue, usually crammed with tourists taking pictures of the north side of the president's residence, was vacant.
The U.S. president says the remaining hostages held in the Israel-Gaza war will only be released "when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!!"
"The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be," Trump wrote on his Truth Social site Monday morning.
"Everyone wants a just peace and true security. And at this very moment, the Russians are striking Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy region, Odesa, residential buildings, and our civilian infrastructure," he wrote.
Zelenskyy said the energy infrastructure object struck in Odesa belongs to an Azerbaijani company. "This is a blow to our relations (with Azerbaijan) and to energy independence."
"The war must be brought to an end. And it is Moscow that must hear 'stop,'" Zelenskyy said in conclusion.
The redrawn district maps would carve out a bigger GOP advantage in the 2026 midterm elections after state Democrats indicated they were ready to end a two-week walkout.
In response, California Democrats are also moving ahead with their own reshaping of congressional districts to counteract Texas, putting in motion a potentially widening and unusually timed redistricting battle nationwide.
The redrawing began in Texas but has been stalled since dozens of Democrats, who are the minority in each chamber, left the state Aug. 3, with most of them going to Illinois. The absent lawmakers had signaled they were ready return to Austin after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ended a first special session and California moved forward with its own plan.
Abbott put redistricting on the agenda at the urging of President Trump, who wants to shore up Republicans' narrow U.S. House majority to avoid losing control of the chamber.