Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a blunt warning early Saturday, rejecting any suggestion that his country would hand over territory to Russia. His statement came just hours after the White House and Kremlin announced a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, set for August 15 in Alaska.
Trump, unveiling the meeting on Friday, hinted there could be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” nations, but offered no specifics. That comment immediately drew a sharp rebuke from Kyiv. “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” Zelensky posted on social media, calling any agreement made without Ukraine’s direct involvement “a decision against peace” that would “achieve nothing.”
The planned talks have already faced pushback from both Ukraine and European leaders, who argue that sidelining Kyiv in negotiations risks undermining any chance of a lasting settlement. Zelensky stressed the war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine,” and insisted his government is ready for “real decisions” — but only if they lead to what he called a “dignified peace.”
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, three separate negotiation rounds between the two nations have collapsed. Tens of thousands have been killed, and millions displaced, while the frontline — stretching over 600 miles — remains locked in a grueling deadlock.
Putin, in power for over a quarter century, has so far refused to meet with Zelensky directly and has ruled out a ceasefire on terms favored by Kyiv or the West. Instead, Moscow welcomed the Alaska venue, noting its proximity to Russia and its symbolic history — the territory was sold to the United States in 1867. Kremlin officials described the choice as “logical” given the state’s location near the Arctic and its shared economic interests with Russia.
The Alaska meeting will mark the first in-person encounter between sitting U.S. and Russian leaders since June 2021, when Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. Trump and Putin last spoke face-to-face in 2019 at the G20 in Japan, though they have held multiple calls since Trump returned to office in January.
In the days leading up to the announcement, Putin engaged in a series of diplomatic calls with allies, including China and India. Meanwhile, Trump has been applying pressure on Moscow by imposing an additional tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil and threatening a similar measure against China — though he has not yet acted on that front.
Zelensky, for his part, has repeatedly pushed for a three-way summit, arguing that meeting Putin personally is the only realistic path to peace. But with the Kremlin still refusing direct talks, Ukraine’s role in Alaska remains uncertain.
Even as the political maneuvering unfolds, fighting on the ground continues. Overnight, Russia and Ukraine exchanged dozens of drone strikes. In Kherson, a frontline city in southern Ukraine, a bus carrying civilians was hit, killing two people and wounding six.
With just days until the Trump-Putin summit, the gap between each side’s vision for peace remains wide. And Zelensky’s message leaves little doubt: any attempt to redraw borders without Ukraine’s consent will be met with fierce resistance — both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.
