By Idrees Ali and Sabine Siebold (Reuters) -NATO military leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine and the way forward, U.S. and NATO officials said on Tuesday, as Washington and European capitals work out details of what security guarantees might look like for Kyiv.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Rutte shared details of a phone call between Putin and President Trump on Monday,

Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on Zelensky ahead of Aug. 18 peace talks in Washington with European leaders, saying on Truth Social that the Ukrainian president could end the war "almost immediately.

Trump: “President Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight."

Trump appeared to place the onus of ending the war on the Ukrainian leader, while emphasizing that Ukraine must give up Russian-annexed Crimea and its hopes of joining NATO — key Kremlin demands.