Trump plans a three-way meeting with Zelensky and Putin after his Alaska summit with Putin.
The move comes as Russia makes its largest territorial gain in Ukraine in over a year.
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a three-way meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, immediately after his upcoming Alaska summit with Putin, as part of efforts to end the three-year war in Ukraine.
Trump disclosed the plan on Wednesday, August 13, following what he described as a “very good” call with European leaders, including Zelensky. The announcement came on the same day Russian forces made their largest territorial gain in Ukraine in over a year.
“If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” Trump told reporters, referring to Friday’s face-to-face with Putin in Anchorage. “I would like to do it almost immediately a quick second meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky, and myself, if they’d like to have me there.”
The planned Anchorage summit is viewed as a pivotal moment in Trump’s pledge to end the conflict, with Zelensky and European allies urging him to push for a ceasefire. However, concerns remain that any deal could come at Ukraine’s expense, particularly as Zelensky was not invited to the initial meeting with Putin.
Trump cautioned that the follow-up talks would not proceed if Putin appeared uncooperative. “If I feel that it’s not appropriate because I didn’t get the answers we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,” he said.
According to AFP analysis, Russian troops on Tuesday seized roughly 110 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory their largest single-day advance in more than a year. Earlier, Zelensky joined German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO and EU leaders, and other European officials in a joint call with Trump. The leaders agreed on the need for a ceasefire, with Trump warning Russia of “severe consequences” for non-compliance.
Still, Zelensky expressed doubt over Moscow’s intentions, insisting that “Putin definitely does not want peace.” While Trump described Friday’s meeting as “really a feel-out meeting,” he suggested possible land swaps in a future settlement. Merz confirmed Ukraine’s openness to territorial negotiations but stressed that formal recognition of Russian-occupied areas “would not be up for debate.”
Despite diplomatic overtures, Russia’s eastern offensive is intensifying. Ukrainian troops in Kramatorsk voiced pessimism, with one serviceman, Artem, warning, “Putin is massing an army, he is stockpiling weapons, he is pulling the wool over our eyes… This war will likely continue for a long time.”
