Zelensky says he warned Trump that Putin is 'bluffing'
"I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing," he said at a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine." Mr Zelensky added that he wanted a three-leader meeting, saying no talks about Ukraine should exclude Kyiv.
Speaking following this afternoon's meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Mr Trump said Ukraine must be involved in talks about territory in any ceasefire deal with Russia.
The comments were the first indication of what came out of talks between Mr Trump, European leaders, and Mr Zelensky intended to shape Mr Trump's meeting with Mr Putin.
Mr Trump's insistence on involving Ukraine, if confirmed, could bring a measure of relief to Ukraine and its allies, who have feared that Mr Trump and Mr Putin could reach a deal that sells out Europe's and Ukraine's security interests and proposes to carve up Ukraine's territory.
Mr Trump and Mr Putin are due to meet in Alaska on Friday for talks on how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two.
Mr Trump has said both sides will have to swap land to end fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
On a day of intense diplomacy, Mr Zelensky flew into Berlin for German-hosted virtual meetings with European leaders and then with Mr Trump.
The Europeans worry that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine and embolden Mr Putin to expand further west into the future.
Since announcing the Alaska summit, Mr Trump has played down expectations for the talks, saying it would be a "feel-out" meeting as he seeks to end Moscow's war on Ukraine.
In a first video conference earlier, Mr Zelensky and his host, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, met the leaders of Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss their pitch to Mr Trump and try and shape the outcome of Friday's summit.
Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance later joined the conversation, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The unpredictability of the summit in Alaska has fuelled Europeans' fears that the US and Russia could take far-reaching decisions over their heads and even seek to coerce Ukraine into an unfavourable deal.
"We are focusing now to ensure that it does not happen - engaging with US partners and staying coordinated and united on the European side," said one senior official from Eastern Europe.
Wary of angering Mr Trump, European leaders have repeatedly said they welcome his efforts while stressing that there should be no deal about Ukraine without Ukraine's participation.
Watch: Meeting to gain 'better understanding' of conflict - White House
Mr Trump's administration tempered expectations on Tuesday, telling reporters the summit would be a "listening exercise" for him to hear what it would take to get to a deal.
Mr Trump's agreement last week to the summit was an abrupt shift after weeks of voicing frustration with Mr Putin for resisting the US peace initiative. Mr Trump said his envoy had made "great progress" at talks in Moscow.
Half a dozen senior European officials told Reuters that they see a risk of a deal being struck that is unfavourable for Europe and Ukraine's security. They said European unity would be vital if that happened.
Battlefield pressure mounts on Ukraine
A Gallup poll released last week found that 69% of Ukrainians favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means crushing concessions.
Ahead of the calls, Mr Zelensky said it would be impossible for Kyiv to agree to a deal that would require it to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region, a large swathe of which is already occupied by Russia.
That, he told reporters yesterday, would deprive Ukraine of a vast defensive network in the region, easing the way for a Russian push deeper into Ukraine in the future.
He said territorial issues could only be discussed once a ceasefire was in place and Ukraine had received security guarantees. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said Moscow's stance had not changed since it was set out by Mr Putin in June 2024.
As preconditions for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations, the Kremlin leader had demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce its plans to join NATO.
Kyiv swiftly rejected the conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Russia makes biggest 24-hour Ukraine advance in over a year
The Russian army made its biggest 24-hour advance into Ukraine in over a year just ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
The Russian army took or claimed 110 square kilometres on 12 August compared to the previous day. It was the most since late May 2024.
In recent months, Moscow has typically taken five or six days to progress at such a pace, although Russian advances have accelerated in recent weeks.
The US and Russian presidents, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, are to meet in Alaska on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged yesterday that Russian troops had advanced by up to 10 kilometres near the eastern coal mining town of Dobropillia, but that Kyiv would soon "destroy them."
Russia said earlier that it had taken two villages close to Dobropillia.
About 70% of Russia's advances in Ukraine so far this year are in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which the Kremlin claimed to have annexed in September 2022.
As of 12 August, Moscow controlled or claimed to control 79% of the region, up from 62% a year ago.
The Russian army has also been attempting to seize the mining town of Pokrovsk for more than 18 months, following its capture of Bakhmut in May 2023.
The last two major cities held by Kyiv in the region are also at risk. They are Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which is an important logistical hub for the front.
Russian progress in Ukraine has accelerated every month since April.
Between 12 August 2024 and 12 August 2025, the Russian army captured more than 6,100sq/km, four times more than the previous year, according to the AFP analysis of the institute's data.
However, these Russian advances account for less than 1% of pre-war Ukraine's territory, including Crimea and Donbass.
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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Melania Trump pens ‘peace letter' to Putin urging tyrant to ‘serve humanity'… & it's hand-delivered by US president
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RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
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