“Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” the leaders said, adding that “we share the conviction that a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests.”

The statement, which was agreed late on Monday and published on Tuesday, was endorsed by leaders of all EU member countries except Hungary.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders are scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Trump has been vague about his expectations for the Alaska summit with Putin on Friday, describing it as a “feel-out meeting” to gauge the Russian leader’s ideas for ending the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky has ruled out ceding territory seized by force. Trump — who publicly berated Zelensky at a White House meeting in February — said he was a “little bothered” by Zelensky’s stance and insisted land swaps would need to take place.

“There’ll be some swapping, there’ll be some changes in land,” he said.

But Trump said he would also tell Putin that “you’ve got to end this war”.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine east of the mining town of Dobropillia in a move that Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers say could become a serious problem for Kyiv if left unchecked.

Ukraine’s authoritative DeepState war map showed on Tuesday that Russian forces had quickly advanced north in two prongs covering as much as 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), part of their drive to take full control of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

DeepState said they had advanced near three villages on a section of the frontline associated with the two Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka.

The Russian thrust comes days ahead of a summit in Alaska on Friday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin where the two leaders are expected to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Tatarigami_UA, a former Ukrainian army officer whose Frontelligence Insight analysis tracks the conflict closely, said the Russian move had the potential to escalate dangerously if not nipped in the bud.

“This is critical. In both 2014 and 2015, Russia launched major offensives ahead of negotiations to gain leverage. The current situation is serious, but far from the collapse some suggest,” Tatarigami wrote on X.

(Reporting by Andrew OsbornEditing by Guy Faulconbridge)

Donald Trump has said that he will discuss “land swapping” with Russian president Vladimir Putin during their high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday.

The two world leaders will meet in the US state at the end of this week to discuss a potential deal to end to the three-year-old war between Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said there would “be some land swapping going on,” adding that this would involve “some bad stuff” for both countries.

Trump also expressed frustration with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky’s insistence that Kyiv would need to hold a national referendum on any peace deal which grants Russia control over territory it has illegally occupied since the start of its invasion in 2022.

Trump and Putin last met in 2018 in Helsinki, Finland (AP)

“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying I have to get constitutional approval,” Trump said. “He has approval to go to war and kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.”

Zelensky has remained firm that Ukraine won’t commit to giving up land in order to secure a ceasefire, despite Russia’s control over four of the country’s regions.

Trump caused alarm when he told reporters he was “going to Russia on Friday,” despite the meeting taking place in Alaska, a region which was colonised by Russia until Czar Alexander II sold it to the US in 1867.

The US president has said that the meeting with the Russian leader is “a feel-out meeting”, adding that he was open to meeting with Putin first and then with Zelensky, or meeting both together. However, he did not say he would push for a three-person meeting.

Zelensky has expressed concerns about the prospect of ceding land to Russia (PA Wire)

“President Putin invited me to get involved,” he said, adding he felt it was very respectful for Putin to come to Alaska instead of asking Trump to go to Russia.

European Union leaders shared a statement of support for Ukraine on Tuesday, appealing for Trump to defend their security interests during the summit.

The statement from 26 nations welcomed the “efforts of President Trump towards ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine” but stressed that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.”

“A just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force,” they said.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban did not support the statement, later writing on social media: “The statement attempts to set conditions for a meeting to which leaders of the EU were not invited.

“The fact that the EU was left on the sidelines is sad enough as it is. The only thing that could make things worse is if we started providing instructions from the bench”, he added, before concluding: “The only sensible action for EU leaders is to initiate an EU-Russia summit, based on the example of the US-Russia meeting. Let’s give peace a chance!”

European Union leaders today reaffirmed the principle that Ukrainians must be free to determine their own future, just three days before a scheduled meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

“We, the leaders of the European Union, welcome President Trump’s efforts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and to achieve a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine,” the leaders said in a joint statement, which Hungary did not sign. “The Ukrainian people must have the freedom to decide their own future,” the declaration continued.

“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” the statement emphasized, adding that substantive negotiations can only take place “within the framework of a ceasefire or a reduction in hostilities.” The leaders further stressed that “our shared conviction is that any diplomatic solution must protect the vital security interests of both Ukraine and Europe.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and EU leaders are due to hold talks tomorrow, Wednesday, with Donald Trump.

Trump has remained vague about his expectations for the meeting, expressing hope for a “constructive” encounter in Alaska. He also noted with approval that “he very much respects” the fact that his Russian counterpart agreed to travel to U.S. soil.

However, Trump made a remark likely to unsettle the Ukrainian president and European allies, saying he is “a little annoyed” that “(Volodymyr) Zelensky says, ‘I need constitutional approval’” to cede territory.

“Because there will be land swaps,” Trump predicted, at a time when Russian forces currently occupy about 20% of Ukraine’s territory.

Source: ANA-MPA / Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas