In addition to what promise to be bitter debates over the continued illegal occupation of Ukrainian land by Russian forces, Kyiv will want to ensure that Moscow pays for the hundreds of billions of dollars-worth of destruction it has wreaked and returns 20,000 abducted children, along with prisoners of war.

Chiefly, Ukraine wants a deal that has meaningful security guarantees and doesn’t simply allow Trump and Putin to team up on reintegrating Russia into the global economy. That would only allow Putin to strengthen Russia for renewed offensives.

The mood is Kyiv is skeptical about what will emerge from Alaska.

“I don’t expect any breakthrough from this summit. Putin did not abandon his ultimate goal to destroy Ukraine. He can only agree to a ceasefire that will create the conditions for our destruction,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the foreign relations committee in the Ukrainian parliament.

“In the case of Trump and his diplomacy, it’s all for the sake of the picture … A spectacle for the media, like the meeting with [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un. But for Putin, this meeting means a lot, as it shows him as the leader of a great state with its political interests, not an international pariah he should have been, as he has not abandoned his desire to destroy Ukraine’s statehood,” Merezhko added.

If there is to be peace, Russia has to back down, Zelenskyy stressed in a Telegram post.

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While anticipation is building ahead of Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday, open source data showed that Russia seized 10km of land in a shock eastern offensive.

A sudden thrust near the mining town of Dobropillia, near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, has taken Ukraine by surprise, Ukraine’s DeepState war map showed.

However, Ukraine denied that Russian forces broke through its frontlines.

“As is known, the Russians use the tactic of infiltration by small groups past the first line of defence, losing a lot of personnel, which happened near Dobropillya,” Ukraine’s armed forces said.

It added that “a small enemy group” bypassed Ukrainian positions and “tried to hide in our rear, but the Defense Forces are repelling such attempts”.

Watch our security and defence analyst Michael Clarke break down the situation here.

Zelenskyy rejects Putin’s ‘proposal’

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Putin wants the rest of Donetsk – and in effect the entire Donbas – as part of a ceasefire plan.

Kyiv controls around 30%, or 9,000 sq km, of Donetsk, which is located in Ukraine’s east, Zelenskyy said.

It borders Russia and makes up the region known as the Donbas along with the neighbouring Luhansk region, of which Moscow controls 99%.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would reject the proposal.

He explained that such a move would deprive Kyiv of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.

EU leaders appeal to Trump not to sideline Ukraine

Elsewhere, 26 EU leaders have issued a joint statement warning that Ukraine must have a role in deciding its future, after Trump said Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The EU leaders repeated calls for Zelenskyy to be invited, welcoming Trump’s efforts “towards ending Russia’s war of aggression”, but warning: “The people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future.”

The statement was signed by every EU member state except Hungary, which has an often antagonistic relationship with Ukraine and the European Union, and is Putin’s closest ally in Europe.

On Friday’s summit, the White House announced it will be held in Anchorage – Alaska’s largest city.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the talks will be a “listening exercise” for Trump.

It comes as our US correspondent James Matthews said Trump is lowering expectations ahead of the summit.

Watch the latest Trump 100 episode in the video below.

We’re pausing our coverage

Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine today.

While anticipation is building ahead of Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday, open source data showed that Russia seized 10km of land in a shock eastern offensive.

A sudden thrust near the mining town of Dobropillia, near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, has taken Ukraine by surprise, Ukraine’s DeepState war map showed.

However, Ukraine denied that Russian forces broke through its frontlines.

“As is known, the Russians use the tactic of infiltration by small groups past the first line of defence, losing a lot of personnel, which happened near Dobropillya,” Ukraine’s armed forces said.

It added that “a small enemy group” bypassed Ukrainian positions and “tried to hide in our rear, but the Defense Forces are repelling such attempts”.

Watch our security and defence analyst Michael Clarke break down the situation here.

Zelenskyy rejects Putin’s ‘proposal’

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Putin wants the rest of Donetsk – and in effect the entire Donbas – as part of a ceasefire plan.

Kyiv controls around 30%, or 9,000 sq km, of Donetsk, which is located in Ukraine’s east, Zelenskyy said.

It borders Russia and makes up the region known as the Donbas along with the neighbouring Luhansk region, of which Moscow controls 99%.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would reject the proposal.

He explained that such a move would deprive Kyiv of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.

EU leaders appeal to Trump not to sideline Ukraine

Elsewhere, 26 EU leaders have issued a joint statement warning that Ukraine must have a role in deciding its future, after Trump said Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The EU leaders repeated calls for Zelenskyy to be invited, welcoming Trump’s efforts “towards ending Russia’s war of aggression”, but warning: “The people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future.”

The statement was signed by every EU member state except Hungary, which has an often antagonistic relationship with Ukraine and the European Union, and is Putin’s closest ally in Europe.

On Friday’s summit, the White House announced it will be held in Anchorage – Alaska’s largest city.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the talks will be a “listening exercise” for Trump.

It comes as our US correspondent James Matthews said Trump is lowering expectations ahead of the summit.

Watch the latest Trump 100 episode in the video below.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly and firmly opposed the idea of giving up the Donbas region to Russia. He has rejected any talk of trading territory just days before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy explained that losing Donbas would not just be a political compromise but a major strategic mistake that would make it easier for Russia to attack again in the future.

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According to Politico, during a recent conversation with reporters in Kyiv, the Ukrainian leader was very clear in his refusal to surrender the region. He said, “We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive. If today we leave Donbas, from our fortifications, from our reliefs, from the heights that we control, we will clearly open a bridgehead for preparing an offensive by the Russians. In a few years, Putin will have an open path to both the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. And not only that. Also to Kharkiv.”

Zelenskyy essentially warned that Ukraine would be creating a new pathway for Russia to invade later. He specifically said that this would put regions like Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kharkiv at risk of being attacked within a few years.

Zelenskyy isn’t giving up land, no matter what Trump thinks

The upcoming meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents in Alaska is meant to discuss a possible ceasefire in the current war. Trump recently said that any peace agreement would probably involve some “land swapping” between the two countries, though he did not say exactly which areas might be included. He mentioned that if a deal seemed fair, he would propose it to leaders of the European Union, NATO, and Ukraine’s president, but he also left open the possibility of advising Kyiv to keep fighting.

Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have unofficially hinted that Ukraine could give up Donbas in exchange for Russia stopping its attacks in the south. Zelenskyy immediately rejected the idea of trading territory, calling it an oversimplified “real estate deal.”

“Zelenskyy has made it crystal clear: no land swaps and no exceptions. Yet Ukraine — the country that didn’t ask for this war and has fought to stay alive — isn’t even at the table. That’s not diplomacy, it’s authoritarian theater.” — Oy Vey (@BW1899) August 12, 2025

He emphasized that the issue of land cannot be separated from the need for strong security promises for Ukraine. Without those guarantees, he argued, giving up the territory would only provide Russia with a new base for future aggression. He pointed out that the land in question, about 9,000 square kilometers, or roughly 30 percent of the Donetsk region, was not his personal property to hand over.

Zelenskyy ended with, “The state is what, private property? 30 percent of the Donetsk region is what, my private property? Or yours? Or someone else’s? The exchange of territories is a very complex issue that cannot be separated from security guarantees for Ukraine, for our sovereign state and our people.”

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“If today we leave Donbas, from our fortifications, from our reliefs, from the heights that we control, we will clearly open a bridgehead for preparing an offensive by the Russians. In a few years, Putin will have an open path to both the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. And not only that. Also to Kharkiv.”

Trump said on Monday that a peace settlement would require “land swapping” done by both Ukraine and Russia, but did not specify which territories are on the table. “If it’s a fair deal, I will reveal it to the European Union leaders and the NATO leaders and also to President Zelenskyy,” Trump said. “I may say, ‘lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say we can make a deal.”

Behind the scenes, the U.S. has floated the idea of Ukraine offering Donbas in return for Russia halting its offensive in the south, a person familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

“Any issue of territories cannot be separated from security guarantees. Otherwise, now they want to give them about 9,000 square kilometers, which is about 30 percent of the Donetsk region, and this is a bridgehead for their new aggression,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president also slammed the idea of a territorial exchange as a real estate deal.

“I am not going to surrender my country, because I have no right to do so,” Zelenskyy said. “The state is what, private property? 30 percent of the Donetsk region is what, my private property? Or yours? Or someone else’s? The exchange of territories is a very complex issue that cannot be separated from security guarantees for Ukraine, for our sovereign state and our people.”

While supporting Trump’s goal of ending the war quickly, he said a lasting ceasefire is needed before any substantive talks. “Any productive talks without [Ukraine] at the table will not work for us. They are possible, but they will not be accepted by us.”

Ukraine’s president said he does not know what Trump will discuss with Putin during the bilateral meeting, but hopes that Trump will push for a ceasefire — and ideally also impose sanctions.