Zelensky and EU leaders to hold call with Trump ahead of Putin summit
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A Russian summer offensive has been progressing with troops making a sudden thrust near the eastern town of Dobropillia and advancing 10km (six miles) in a short period of time.While downplaying Russia's advance, Zelensky said it was "clear to us" that Moscow's objective was to create a "certain information space" before Putin meets Trump that "Russia is moving forward, advancing, while Ukraine is losing".No official details have emerged on what demands Putin could make when he meets Trump in Anchorage on Friday. The Donbas - made up of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk - has been partly occupied by Russia since 2014.Moscow now holds almost all of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk but speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Zelensky reaffirmed that Ukraine would reject any proposal to leave the Donbas. Ukraine's borders must not be changed by force, EU leaders sayWhy Trump and Putin are meeting in AlaskaWhy did Putin's Russia invade Ukraine?Zelensky has previously insisted that Ukrainians would not "gift their land to the occupier", and pointed to the country's constitution, which requires a referendum before a change in its territory.Last week, Trump said there would be "some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Russia and Ukraine - sparking concern in Kyiv and across Europe that Moscow could be allowed to redraw Ukraine's borders by force.Russia currently controls just under 20% of Ukrainian territory.
The White House on Tuesday said the Alaska talks would be a "listening exercise" for Trump and added having him and Putin sit down in the same room would give the US president "the best indication on how to end this war".It follows Trump describing the summit as a "feel-out meeting" on Monday, seeming to tone down expectations that Friday's meeting could bring Ukraine and Russia closer to peace. When he announced the summit last week, Trump sounded positive that the meeting could result in concrete steps towards peace. "I think my gut instinct really tells me that we have a shot at it," he said. The Ukrainian leader has previously said any agreements without Kyiv's involvement would amount to "dead decisions".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer to speak with coalition of the willing ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting
Sir Keir Starmer will speak to western allies on Sunday ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky's White House meeting with Donald Trump. The Prime Minister, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz will host the meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon. The coalition, made up of 30-plus nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over. The meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of US President Mr Trump's summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump hoped to secure a peace deal from the talks at a military base in Anchorage, but both he and Mr Putin walked away without agreement on how to end the war in Ukraine. The US leader, however, insisted 'some great progress' was made, with 'many points' agreed and 'very few' remaining. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. After the Alaska summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to Mr Zelensky to 'make a deal' to end the war. Sir Keir commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US president, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine.
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump tells Zelenskiy that Putin wants more of Ukraine, urges Kyiv make a deal
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not", after a summit where Vladimir Putin was reported to have demanded more Ukrainian land. After the two leaders met in Alaska on Friday, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Putin had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow's main targets, a source familiar with the matter said. Zelenskiy rejected the demand, the source said. Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014. Trump also said he agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies, until now with U.S. support, have demanded. Zelenskiy said he would meet Trump in Washington on Monday, while Kyiv's European allies welcomed Trump's efforts but vowed to back Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia. Trump's meeting with Putin, the first U.S.-Russia summit since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, lasted just three hours. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up," Trump posted on Truth Social. His various comments on the meeting mostly aligned with the public positions of Moscow, which says it wants a full settlement - not a pause - but that this will be complex because positions are "diametrically opposed". Russia has been gradually advancing for months. The war - the deadliest in Europe for 80 years - has killed or wounded well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Before the summit, Trump had said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on. But afterwards he said that, after Monday's talks with Zelenskiy, "if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin". Those talks will evoke memories of a meeting in the White House Oval Office in February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave Zelenskiy a brutal public dressing-down. Putin signalled no movement in Russia's long-held demands, which also include a veto on Kyiv's desired membership in the NATO alliance. He made no mention in public of meeting Zelenskiy, which the Ukrainian leader said he was willing to do. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said a three-way summit had not been discussed. In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Trump signalled that he and Putin had discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had "largely agreed". "I think we're pretty close to a deal," he said, adding: "Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say 'no'." Asked what he would advise Zelenskiy to do, Trump said: "Gotta make a deal." "Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not," he added. Zelenskiy has consistently said he cannot concede territory without changes to Ukraine's constitution, and Kyiv sees Donetsk's "fortress cities" such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as a bulwark against Russian advances into even more regions. Zelenskiy has also insisted on security guarantees, to deter Russia from invading again. He said he and Trump had discussed "positive signals" on the U.S. taking part, and that Ukraine needed a lasting peace, not "just another pause" between Russian invasions. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed what he described as Trump's openness to providing security guarantees to Ukraine under a peace deal. He said security guarantees were "essential to any just and lasting peace." Putin, who has opposed involving foreign ground forces, said he agreed with Trump that Ukraine's security must be "ensured". "I would like to hope that the understanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to that goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine," Putin told a briefing on Friday with Trump. For Putin, just sitting down with Trump represented a victory. He had been ostracised by Western leaders since the start of the war, and just a week earlier had faced a threat of new sanctions from Trump. Trump spoke to European leaders after returning to Washington. Several stressed the need to keep pressure on Russia. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said an end to the war was closer than ever, thanks to Trump, but added: "... until (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions." A statement from European leaders said, "Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees" and no limits should be placed on its armed forces or right to seek NATO membership as Russia has sought. Some European politicians and commentators were scathing about the summit. "Putin got his red carpet treatment with Trump, while Trump got nothing," Wolfgang Ischinger, former German ambassador to Washington, posted on X. Both Russia and Ukraine carried out overnight air attacks, a daily occurrence, while fighting raged on the front. Trump told Fox he would postpone imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil, but he might have to "think about it" in two or three weeks. He ended his remarks after the summit by telling Putin: "We'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon." "Next time in Moscow," a smiling Putin responded in English.
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Putin's legs 'twitch suspiciously' during Trump meeting
This is the moment the leg of Russian president Vladimir Putin was seen 'twitching suspiciously' as he bid farewell to Donald Trump. Kremlin footage captured the Russian leader's knee jolting repeatedly as he stood alongside his US counterpart at the end of their brief exchange following a joint press conference at the summit in Alaska. The pair, flanked by security teams and aides, spoke for a short time, with a translator stepping in to assist their conversation. Video clips shared online showed the Russian leader repeatedly dipping one knee as he stood beside the 6ft 3in former president at Elmendorf-Richardson Air Base in Anchorage - before departing without agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine. But the unusual movements were seized by eagle-eyed Ukrainians, who ridiculed the 72-year-old's fidgeting and speculated about the state of his health. They even claimed he wore a 'light exoskeleton' as well as thick-platform shoes to overcome his 'Napoleon complex' and minimise his height difference with the US president. An exoskeleton is a wearable robotic device designed to assist or augment the posture of the person wearing it. Observers also noted the striking difference in stature, with Trump's 6ft 3in frame towering over the 5ft 7in Russian leader despite Putin's visibly elevated footwear. 'Attention - Putin's legs. What is wrong with them?' asked Times of Ukraine channel. 'Putin seems to have achieved his goal, but he is twitching suspiciously. His legs are "shaking." Maybe his shoes are tight,' said Nevzorov channel. As well as pushing out his knees, Putin repeatedly raised his left toe and heel in turn. Another Ukrainian outlet commented on how Putin 'suddenly "grew" for the meeting with Trump'. 'A strange element resembling a light exoskeleton was noticed in the outfit of the Russian dictator,' claimed Crimean Wind. The 20 centimetre - or eight inch - difference in the leaders' heights was 'not very noticeable on the video. However, something resembling a light exoskeleton under the [trousers] – at least from the knees down – is noticeable. Apparently, suffering from a Napoleon complex, Putin decided not to limit himself to traditional shoes with hidden platforms adding up to 12 cm [almost 5 inches] in height for the "meeting of the century".' Later Putin was seen bending his knee to lay flowers at the graves of Soviet pilots and other military personnel at the Fort Richardson Memorial Cemetery. During the Lend-Lease programme during the Second World War, Soviet pilots trained in Alaska and ferried U.S.-built aircraft across the Bering Strait. Some died during training or flights. After laying flowers, Putin returned to his 'Flying Kremlin' Il-96-300PU presidential plane, where he is known as 'Passenger Number One'. American fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II fighters escorted the plane carrying Vladimir Putin after his departure from Elmendorf-Richardson Air Base following talks with Trump. Soon afterwards - after crossing the International Date Line - Putin landed in the far-flung Russian region Chukotka, where ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was once the governor, for meetings with local officials. Following the summit, Trump has been calling Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO and European allies to update them on the two-and-a-half hour meeting. Zelensky has now said he will travel to Washington on Monday.
