Trump And Putin Are Meeting To Discuss Giving Away Ukraine's Land. How On Earth Did We Get Here?
This absurd situation has understandably sparked fury in Ukraine.
Putin has seized four Ukrainian regions since his February 2022 invasion, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, although he does not have full control over them.
Russia has also been holding onto the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea since Putin annexed it in 2014.
How did we even get to this point? Here's what you need to know – and what could happen next.
What's just happened with Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy?
What did Trump say?
The US president has been trying to orchestrate the end of the Ukraine war ever since he returned to office this year.
He promised he could end the war within his first 24 hours back in the Oval office – that was seven months ago and the three-year war is still raging.
Trump posted on social media on Friday that the parties, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were close to a ceasefire deal.
However, he warned that it could demand Ukraine to give a significant portion of territory.
He then told reporters at the White House that there would be an exchange of land, saying: 'There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.'
What did Zelenskyy say?
Zelenskyy, who has been trying to stay on Trump's good side in recent months, immediately rejected the idea.
He said: 'Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupiers.'
In a video posted on social media, he said the country will not violate its constitution on its territory.
Speaking bluntly, he said: 'They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we need real and genuine peace.'
What did Putin say?
Putin has not spoken himself about the arrangement, but it's likely the Russian president is delighted to have a one-on-one with Trump – without Zelenskyy's input.
The Kremlin has confirmed Putin will be meeting with Trump next Friday, and they will 'focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian crisis'.
Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said: 'This will evidently be a challenging process, but we will engage in it actively and energetically.'
Do we know what's actually on the table in this potential deal?
As the Institute for Studying War think tank pointed out, it's very difficult to know what Putin's actual position is right now.
The Trump administration has described Russia's potential peace offer in four different ways since August 6.
The only consistency is that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from unoccupied parts of Donetsk, which would be a major Ukrainian concession.
Confusingly, it seems different parts of the US administration believe Putin has offered to withdraw from some areas of Ukraine if he can officially claim other parts of the country as his – but the exact details have been mixed up while being relaying between officials.
There's also been some talk of Russia freezing the frontline in some occupied regions.
How has Europe responded?
Europe quickly rallied together in response to Trump's statements, confirming their ongoing backing for Ukraine and calling for its sovereign borders to be respected.
In a statement over the weekend, a Downing Street spokeswoman confirmed Starmer had spoken to the French president Emmanuel Macron about the crisis and 'reiterated their unwavering support' for Ukraine.
She said: 'They welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine and end Russia's war of aggression, and discussed how to further work closely with President Trump and President Zelenskyy over the coming days.'
A subsequent statement was then issued by the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, the EU and Finland, 'welcoming' Trump's work, while insisting its diplomatic support for Ukraine was unwavering.
'We stand ready to support this work diplomatically as well as by upholding our substantive military and financial support to Ukraine, including through the work of the Coalition of the Willing, and by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation,' the heads of state said.
They noted that there was a 'need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.'
The statement pointedly added: 'Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.
'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.'
They also made it plain that they still believe Russia's invasion of Ukraine was illegal.
What does all this mean?
It certainly seems that Putin holds more of the cards right now than Ukraine, although Trump could still impose crippling sanctions on Russia's cheap oil exports.
However, he seems reluctant to do that directly to Moscow, so far only slapping extra tariffs on India for continually buying the Russian produce.
The US president is very keen to end the war, but appears to have a soft spot for Putin.
He has repeatedly offered to conclude the conflict on Putin's terms, but the Russian president has repeatedly dragged his feet during previous attempts to negotiate a peace.
After Trump's crackdown on Russia's trade with India, there's a chance this could be a turning point – but Putin is keeping his cards close to his chest once again.
Meanwhile, Europe is desperately pushing to ensure the continent, which is most at risk of Putin's expansionist goals, still has a seat at the negotiation table, and trying to put Ukraine's interests at the heart of talks.
Trump now seems to want to end the conflict even if it means overlooking what Ukraine wants altogether, even ditching his plan to hold a trilateral meeting between himself, Russian and Ukraine just to appease Putin.
And, as a Russian researcher from the global monitor Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) pointed out, losses continue to rise on the battlefield amid all of the international diplomacy.
Fedor K said: 'Despite the recent diplomatic pressure, the war wages on and civilians on both sides of the border are paying the ultimate toll.'
Related...
Putin's Army Is Still Taking Large Chunks Of Ukraine's Land, UK Says
Trump Eases Up On Vladimir Putin By Offering The Russian Dictator 1 Major Concession
Putin Has Pulled The Wool Over Trump's Eyes Before. Will He Do It Again?
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