Zelenskyy speaking to European leaders, White House ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is joining German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday for talks with European and U.S. leaders ahead of a Trump-Putin summit later this week, the German government said.
Merz has convened a series of virtual meetings for Wednesday in an attempt to have the voice of European and Ukraine's leaders heard ahead of the summit in Alaska, where President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy and the leaders of European countries have all been sidelined from that summit. Zelenskyy is due to meet with European leaders first, in preparation for a virtual call with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance about an hour later.
A call between leaders of countries involved in the "coalition of the willing" — those prepared to help police any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv — will take place last.
When Zelenskyy last visited Berlin in late May, Merz pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems, which would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on use and targets.
The Ukrainian leader on Wednesday said his government has had more than 30 conversations with partners ahead of the summit in Alaska, but reiterated his doubt that Putin would negotiate in good faith.
Zelenskyy skeptical of Putin's sincerity
Writing on his official Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said there was "currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war," and urged Ukraine's partners in the United States and Europe to co-ordinate efforts and "force Russia to peace."
"Pressure must be applied on Russia for an honest peace. We must take the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception by Russia," Zelenskyy said.
Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year, describing Friday's summit as "a feel-out meeting" where he can assess the Russian leader's intentions.
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Yet Trump has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He has also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender.
European allies have pushed for Ukraine's involvement in any peace talks, fearful discussions that exclude Kyiv could otherwise favour Moscow.
Trump on Monday ducked repeated chances to say he would push for Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin, and was dismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of an effort to seek peace. Trump said that following Friday's summit, a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could be arranged, or that it could also be a meeting with "Putin and Zelenskyy and me."
The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia's energy might to try to intimidate the European Union, might secure favourable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them.
The overarching fear of many European countries is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next.
Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30 per cent of the Donetsk region that it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected.
Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not give up any territory it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion.
He said diplomatic discussions led by the U.S. focusing on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations.
NATO push rejected by U.S.
Three weeks after Trump returned to office, his administration took the leverage of Ukraine's NATO membership off the table — something Putin has demanded — and signalled that the EU and Ukraine must handle security in Europe now while America focuses its attention elsewhere.
Senior EU officials believe Trump may be satisfied with simply securing a ceasefire in Ukraine, and is probably more interested in broader U.S. geostrategic interests and great power politics, aiming to ramp up business with Russia and rehabilitate Putin. The White House struck an investment deal with Ukraine for future mineral extraction, and has recently leaned on European countries to provide military aid to Ukraine through deals with U.S. weapons providers.
WATCH l New White House OK with arming Ukraine — but with a caveat:
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President Donald Trump is pushing a new two-part plan to end Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine: threatening a 100% tariff on Russia's key trading partners if a deal isn't reached in 50 days, and supplying Ukraine with Patriot missiles. Andrew Chang explains why Ukraine so desperately needs these air defence capabilities and what's behind Trump's change of course. Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
Russian forces on the ground have been closing in on key territory around the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donbas region, a part of Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted.
Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battles have said Ukraine's ability to fend off those advances could be critical. Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important victory ahead of the summit and could complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces struck an oil pumping station in Russia's Bryansk region overnight on Wednesday, according to a statement from Ukraine's General Staff. Drones struck the Unecha station, which supplies the Russian army, the statement said, adding that damage and a large fire was reported in the area around the pumping station.
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