Trump envoy 'misunderstood' Putin's demands for ending Ukraine war, insiders say - as president mulls inviting Zelensky to Alaska summit
On Wednesday, Witkoff spoke with the Russian president at the Kremlin for about three hours, after which Trump praised his negotiator for making 'great progress'.
However, a report from BILD, a German outlet, suggested that Witkoff was under the impression that when Putin demanded a 'peaceful withdrawal' from Kherson and Zaporizhia, he meant that he wanted Russian soldiers to withdraw.
But according to insiders, Putin actually meant he wanted Ukrainian forces to give up these tactically-important cities.
'Witkoff doesn't know what he's talking about,' a Ukrainian official told BILD.
Russia reportedly still isn't budging on its demand to control the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and Crimea.
This comes as Trump officially set Friday, August 15, as the day he and Putin will meet in Alaska to discuss a negotiated settlement to the war, which has stretched on for over three-and-a-half years.
'It's complicated, nothing easy,' Trump told reporters ahead of the announcement. 'It's very complicated but we're going to get some back and we're going to get some switched.'
On the day Trump confirmed he and Putin would be meeting, two people were killed in a Russian strike on a civilian bus in Kherson and two others were killed in a Russian FPV drone strike on a car.
Once news of Trump-Putin summit emerged, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that 'decisions without Ukraine' would not bring peace to the region.
Writing on social media, the Ukrainian President said: 'Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing.
'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.'
He said Ukraine was 'ready for real decisions that can bring peace' but said it should be a 'dignified peace', without giving details.
Following Zelensky's comments, it has now come out that the White House is considering inviting him to Alaska.
A senior US official told NBC News that an invite to Zelensky is 'being discussed'.
His presence hasn't been finalized, but the prospect of him showing up is 'absolutely' possible, the official said.
'The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin, the White House said in a statement to NBC.
Trump has long wanted to end the war in Ukraine, often promising on the campaign trail last year that he would end the conflict on day one of his presidency if he were elected.
Trump's frustration with Putin has grown as the fighting has worn on months into his second term.
In late July, he began to turn the heat up on Russia, saying he was giving the country 10 or 12 days to restart peace talks with Ukraine.
If that wasn't met, he said he was prepared to hit Russia with economic sanctions.
Originally, Trump gave Putin a 50-day deadline and threatened to bring stiff economic penalties on Russia if it did not end hostilities with Ukraine. That would've meant a target date of early September for Putin to make a decision.
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