Russian invasion Negotiations

Ukrainians do not believe in long-term peace in the country

Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by AFP are pessimistic about the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska on Friday. Soldier Vyacheslav says he believed the US president could bring an end to the war – on Ukraine’s terms.

– There is no hope now, but there is a certain expectation, he says.

Dmytro believes that Ukrainian forces will “fight for every little piece” of Ukraine, even knowing that it will be difficult to take back all the occupied territories.

Kyiv resident Valentyn believes that Putin will resume attacks on Ukraine even if there is a peace agreement.

– Even if there is peace, it will be temporary, he says.

White House: Meeting in Alaska will be a “listening exercise” for Donald Trump

Donald Trump sees Friday’s meeting with Vladimir Putin as a “listening exercise,” says White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. At a press briefing, she says Trump is going to Alaska to get a sense of the conditions for a peace agreement.

“The goal of this meeting is for the president to leave with a better understanding of how we can end this war,” she says.

Leavitt also said that Trump will travel to Alaska on Friday morning for the meeting. It will be held in Anchorage, the state’s most populous city. On Wednesday, the president will participate in a virtual meeting with European leaders, including Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

Zelensky: Ukraine will not leave Donbas

Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Russia’s proposal for a ceasefire in exchange for the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and the Crimean peninsula, The Guardian reports. The president says Vladimir Putin had used Donbas in eastern Ukraine as a “springboard for a future new offensive” if Ukrainian forces withdraw.

The region is too strategically important to be abandoned completely, Zelensky says. Instead, the president wants Putin to agree to stop fighting along the current front line and for all prisoners of war to be returned to their home countries before territory is discussed.

Ahead of his meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, US President Donald Trump has said that both sides will likely have to give up territory in a peace deal.