Ukraine updates: 'A ceasefire must come first,' Merz says – DW – 08/13/2025
European and Ukrainian leaders have talked with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon.
They wanted to warn him not to compromise Kyiv's interests while seeking a ceasefire deal in his meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday.
The meeting has raised concerns that Trump may pressure Ukraine into a bad deal.
He has suggested that both sides should give up some territory to end the war."A ceasefire must come first in any agreement," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin after the teleconference with US President Donald Trump.
Merz added that a legal recognition of Russian ownership of Ukraine cannot happen.
He also said if there is no movement from Russia towards peace, "the US and the Europeans need to increase the pressure."
"We wish President Trump all the best," Merz said, adding that leaders will talk to Trump following his Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Merz and Zelenskyy will now head into a video call between members of the Coalition of the Willing, a loose partnership of some 30 countries supporting Ukraine, led by the United Kingdom and France, on the outcome of the discussions with Trump.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders have begun talks via video link with US President Donald Trump about his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
We'll bring you the latest updates as we get them.
As we wait for details on the talks, here's where things stand on the front line in Ukraine:
The Russian army on Wednesday said it had captured two villages near the coal-mining town of Dobropillia — around 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the key strategic city of Pokrovsk.
"The settlements of Suvorovo and Nikanorivka in the Donetsk People's Republic have been liberated," Russia's Defence Ministry said on social media, referring to Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Moscow has made rapid gains in the area in recent days.
Russia currently controls 114,500 square kilometers (44,600 square miles), or 19%, of Ukraine, including all of Crimea, all of Luhansk, and more than 70% of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has arranged a series of virtual meetings in an attempt to have the voice of Europe and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy heard ahead of the summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Here is what is happening this afternoon:
US President Donald Trump took to his Truth social media platform to say he would speak to "European Leaders in a short while."
"They are great people who want to see a deal done," he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at Chancellor Friedrich Merz's office in Berlin to join him and other European leaders for a video call with US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy was welcomed by Merz, who organized the video conferences on short notice in a bid to make sure Kyiv and its European partners remain in the loop amid Trump's talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Russia dismissed virtual talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European leaders and US President Donald Trump as "insignificant."
"We consider the consultations sought by the Europeans to be politically and practically insignificant," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexey Fadeev said.
"The Europeans verbally support the diplomatic efforts of Washington and Moscow to resolve the crisis around Ukraine, but in fact the European Union is sabotaging them," he added.
On Tuesday, the EU warned against redrawing Ukrainian borders by force.
The warning followed comments by Trump, who said Ukraine would have to give up some Russian-held territory.
He made the remarks ahead of Friday's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on ending the war in Ukraine has remained unchanged since June 2024, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev said.
At the time, Putin said Russia would agree to a ceasefire and enter peace talks if Ukraine withdrew its forces from four regions claimed by Moscow.
"Ukrainian troops must be completely withdrawn from the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions," Putin said, referring to regions of Ukraine that Russia has illegally claimed to control.
He also said Kyiv would need to abandon any ambitions of joining NATO.
US President Donald Trump and Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow's war in Ukraine during a face-to-face meeting on Friday.
Trump said he wants to determine whether Putin is serious about ending the four-year war, calling the summit a "feel-out meeting" to gauge the Russian leader's intentions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has not been invited to Friday's meeting, said there is "currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war."
Estonia is expelling a Russian diplomat over "ongoing interference" in the NATO and EU member nation's affairs, the Baltic country's Foreign Ministry said.
The first secretary of the Russian embassy in Tallinn has been declared persona non grata by Estonia and must leave the country.
"The diplomat in question has been directly and actively involved in undermining the constitutional order and legal system of Estonia, as well as in dividing Estonian society, contributing to the crimes against the state, including several offences related to sanctions violations," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.
"The Russian embassy's ongoing interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Estonia must end," he added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev described the expulsion as a hostile act that would prompt a response
Viktor Orban, who is Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Europe, said Ukraine has lost the war against Russia.
The Hungarian prime minister told the far-right conservative news site Mandiner.hu, "The Ukrainians have lost this war, Russia has won the war.
"We are talking like this was a situation of war with an open end," Orban added.
On Tuesday, Orban was the only EU leader who did not back a declaration calling for Ukrainian and European involvement in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
The statement demanded that Ukraine's territorial integrity be ensured, stating that "international borders must not be changed by force."
But Orban said the declaration "set conditions for negotiations to which EU leaders were not even invited."
The Hungarian leader has consistently opposed EU measures to punish Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its allies must pressure Russia to ensure a just peace.
"We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia. There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war," Zelenskyy said on social media.
The Ukrainian president was traveling to Berlin to join Chancellor Merz in video calls with European leaders and US President Donald Trump ahead of a US-Russia summit at a US military base outside Anchorage, Alaska.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold a media conference in Berlin this afternoon, according to the German Chancellery's schedule.
The conference, scheduled for 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), will follow virtual talks with US President Donald Trump ahead of his planned summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
With Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska approaching, territorial concessions in exchange for peace are high on the agenda. Trump has talked about Russia and Ukraine "swapping land," but how feasible is that?
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend a trio of video calls in person with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is hosting the meetings with US President Donald Trump as well as European leaders.
"The president is working in Berlin today," Zelenskyy's spokesperson said, adding that a bilateral meeting with Merz is also planned.
US President Donald Trump will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a virtual meeting hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The meeting comes two days before Trump is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Merz has invited Zelenskyy, along with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, and other EU and NATO officials, to join the call ahead of the talks with Trump.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance will then participate in a second round of discussions.
Afterward, Ukraine's military European backers, including Germany, France and the UK, will also convene.
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The talks come ahead of Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, their first since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
EU leaders have reaffirmed Ukraine's right to self-determination and rejected any changes to borders by force.
Zelenskyy has ruled out withdrawing troops from the Donbas region.
Merz's office said Wednesday's discussions will focus on increasing pressure on Russia and preparing for potential peace negotiations.
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