Will Ukraine cave to Putin in peace talks?

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is scheduled to meet President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday for talks on ending a grinding war with Russian-backed separatists along his country’s eastern border.

It’s a key inflection point for Mr. Zelensky, who campaigned for the presidency partly on a promise to end the war. Post-independence Ukraine has tilted from pro-Western to pro-Russian governments, and there are sharp divides there over how to deal with Russia.

What to expect: Russia, which is widely despised by Ukrainians outside the country’s breakaway eastern territories, is expected to seek to trade away de facto control over two separatist zones. In return, the country is seeking influence in Ukrainian politics, including a veto on membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Voices: Mr. Zelensky’s critics say that without clear American diplomatic backing, he may be too willing to make concessions to Moscow. Doing so would weaken him politically and hamper his ability to follow through with an anticorruption campaign.

U.S. impeachment inquiry: Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, called on her colleagues to begin drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump. She said the inquiry shows that he violated his oath of office by pressing Ukraine for help in the 2020 election.