4 days ago
Russian troops make gains ahead of Trump-Putin summit
Andy Park: Russian troops have made sudden gains on the battlefield in Ukraine, an attack that may be designed to increase Russia's bargaining power when Presidents Putin and Trump meet in Alaska on Friday. Experts say the summit could be a profoundly alarming moment for Europe if it results in a split in the transatlantic alliance. President Trump has mooted a possible Russia-Ukraine land swap as a way to end the conflict, a dangerous precedent in the eyes of other European nations. Stephanie Smail reports.
Stephanie Smail: In the Donetsk region in the country's east, Ukrainian troops say Russia's land grab is intensifying. There's just a few days before the Alaskan meeting between President Trump and President Putin where peace will be a major focus, but soldier Myroslav says on the battlefield drone strikes are increasing.
Myroslav: Every time they talk about peace talks, there's a lot of intensity on their part. They climb out of all the cracks and try to seize as many territories as possible by any means. Whenever peace talks begin, things on the front get terrifying.
Stephanie Smail: As the fighting drags on, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned no deals can be sealed at Friday's meeting between President Putin and President Trump.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy: It's impossible to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine and no one will accept that. So the conversation between Putin and Trump may be important for their bilateral track, but they can't agree on anything about Ukraine without us.
Stephanie Smail: The US President Donald Trump has suggested a deal that would see Ukraine ceding land to Moscow could benefit both sides, but the Ukrainian leader has categorically rejected that idea. President Zelenskyy says a leadership meeting, including Ukraine, needs to happen to secure long-term peace.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy: If we want to end the war, it will happen. Various issues will be raised there. We must stand for the truth and do everything to end this war.
Stephanie Smail: Mr Zelenskyy and some of his European counterparts are due to hold a virtual meeting with Mr Trump today to canvas their concerns. The White House has acknowledged Friday's meeting is missing one of the parties involved in the war, but spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt says President Trump is hopeful a meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the US will happen too. She's described this week's meeting as a listening exercise for President Trump.
Karoline Leavitt: I think the President of the United States getting in the room with the President of Russia, sitting face to face rather than speaking over the telephone, will give this President the best indication of how to end this war and where this is headed.
Stephanie Smail: Russia currently holds shaky control over four of Ukraine's regions, two in the country's east and two in the south. But experts warn Russia's plans are much bigger than securing more land.
Nigel Gould-Davies: The war is not primarily about territory. The area that Russia claims for itself of Ukraine amounts to the equivalent of about 0.7 per cent of Russia's existing total internationally recognised landmass.
Stephanie Smail: Nigel Gould-Davies is a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Nigel Gould-Davies: This is a profoundly alarming moment for Europe and I include in Europe, Ukraine. In the worst case, Trump might be persuaded by Putin to try to end the war by accepting Russian sovereignty over the areas of Ukraine that it claims. And in addition to that, there is the fear that Trump will ease or lift the sanctions.
Stephanie Smail: He argues those sort of moves could provoke a serious split in the transatlantic alliance.
Nigel Gould-Davies: It's clear that Ukraine cannot accept them, but it's also impossible to see how Europe could do so. So on the single most immediate and urgent and dangerous geopolitical issue of today, we would see a stark and irreducible divergence of view between Washington and European capitals.
Stephanie Smail: Others are confident the meeting could deliver progress if President Trump can talk tough with President Putin.
Daniel Fried: Putin is going to push for the maximum as long as he thinks he can get away with it. And Trump's job is to show Putin that he can't get away with it, not anymore.
Stephanie Smail: Daniel Fried is a former US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Daniel Fried: Trump sure has an appetite for winning. And if I were briefing the president, I would say this is one where you show strength now and you show Putin is the weaker one and you vindicate yourself and show all your critics that they were wrong. It's the opportunity for a big win for Trump. That's how I would picture it.
Stephanie Smail: 26 European leaders have issued a statement declaring that Ukrainians must have the freedom to decide their own future ahead of the Alaska talks.
Andy Park: Stephanie Smail.
