President Trump is scheduled to meet President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Friday in Alaska, to discuss a path to ending the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine three and a half years ago. Before he does, his European allies would like to have a word.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany will convene a Ukraine-themed video call on Wednesday that is set to include Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and several of Mr. Trump’s favorite European leaders, like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy. Mr. Zelensky will be in Berlin for the meeting, his office said on Wednesday, and is expected to later brief reporters with Mr. Merz.

A wide range of public statements from Mr. Merz and others suggest the leaders will implore Mr. Trump not to cut a peace deal with Mr. Putin — behind the backs of Mr. Zelensky or his European allies. Mr. Zelensky has not been invited to Alaska.

The European leaders will likely stress that any discussions of terms for ending the war must start with a full cease-fire. They also believe that Europe’s approval is essential for any plans to enforce a truce with European troops.

Leaders from Ukraine and across Europe will hold three high-level online meetings with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, Aug. 13, ahead of his summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The talks are aimed at underscoring the risks of sidelining Kyiv in pursuit of a ceasefire deal, according to a Reuters report.

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German government spokespersons said the first video conference, set for 12:00 GMT (14:00 CET), will bring together Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and leaders from Germany, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland, and the European Union.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also join the call, hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Kyiv hopes the meeting will serve as a European counterweight to the upcoming Alaska summit between Trump and Putin, as outlined by Reuters.

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At 1300 GMT (1500 CET), Trump and US Vice President JD Vance are expected to speak separately with European leaders, followed by a 1430 GMT session of the so-called “coalition of the willing” – countries working on plans to back Ukraine if a ceasefire is reached.

European leaders, while keen to avoid provoking Trump, have stressed that peace efforts must include Ukraine directly. Half a dozen senior European officials told Reuters they fear a deal that could undermine both Ukraine’s and Europe’s security, and that unity among allies will be critical.

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A source familiar with US internal discussions told Reuters it’s possible Trump could seek a deal with Putin without involving Ukraine or the EU – though such a move could create serious tensions with both.

As previously reported by Kyiv Post, European allies are warning that no peace deal for Ukraine should be negotiated without Kyiv’s direct involvement.

“This diplomatic friction stems from growing concerns that the Trump administration may push for a settlement that forces Ukraine to cede territory, an idea the president has publicly referred to as “land swapping,” the report read.

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Moreover, in a joint statement, EU leaders stressed that the path to peace “cannot be decided without Ukraine” and that “international borders must not be changed by force.”

The tension has extended beyond diplomatic halls to the streets of Anchorage, Alaska, where protests are planned ahead of Putin’s arrival for Friday’s summit.

The nonprofit group Stand Up Alaska announced a rally for Thursday, calling Putin an “international war criminal” – a reference to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes.

“We’re here to send a clear message to both Donald Trump and Putin: Alaska stands firmly against authoritarianism,” a spokesperson for the group said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed claims that simply holding the summit amounts to a concession to Putin. He described it as a crucial “feel-out meeting” in which Trump wanted to personally assess the Russian leader.

According to Rubio, Trump believes, “I’ve got to look at this guy across the table. I need to see him face to face.”

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Zelensky criticized the meeting, calling it a “personal victory” for Putin and warning that it allowed the Russian leader to “come out of isolation” and “somehow postpone sanctions.”

Zelensky also vowed that Ukrainian forces would not withdraw from the Russian-occupied Donbas region, despite Trump’s suggestion to do so.

The Ukrainian president warned that abandoning Donbas would set the stage for “a third war” and future Russian offensives against Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv.

“We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do that,” he said, stressing that the region was “illegally occupied” and served as a springboard for further attacks.

The Anchorage summit will be the first meeting between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021, when Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva.

Zelensky said he had received a “signal” from US envoy to Moscow Steve Witkoff that Russia might agree to a ceasefire during the talks – the first such indication from the Kremlin.

The White House confirmed that the meeting was arranged at Putin’s request. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s goal was to leave Alaska with “a better understanding of how we can end this war.”

Close Zelensky warns he will not give up land as Trump to meet Putin in Alaska

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US president Donald Trump will virtually meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders across Europe and Nato today.

The call, organised by German chancellor Friedrich Merz, comes ahead of Trump’s summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday as he endeavours to end the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky will reportedly travel to Berlin especially for the meeting with Merz and Trump, although other world leaders – including coalition of the willing members such as Sir Keir Starmer – are set to join the conversation.

European leaders remain concerned that they are being sidelined in the Trump-Putin summit and the Russian leader will set his sights on them if a lenient ceasefire deal on Ukraine is brokered.

It comes as Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk as part of any ceasefire deal potentially brokered by Donald Trump, Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president said Mr Putin wanted the remaining 30 per cent, or 3,500 square miles of the region, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the three-and-a-half-year-old war.

But Mr Zelensky vowed Ukraine would “never leave” the Donbas and warned Mr Putin’s troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a meeting on the sidelines of NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Summary Trump meets Putin on Friday to discuss war in Ukraine

Europe, Kyiv fear being shut out of war negotiations

Ukraine warns unfair peace in Ukraine would not last long

Zelenskiy, Trump and Europeans meet online on Wednesday

BRUSSELS/LONDON/KYIV, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Europe and Ukraine’s leaders will speak to U.S. President Donald Trump at a virtual meeting on Wednesday ahead of his summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin , as they try to drive home the perils of selling out Kyiv’s interests in pursuit of a ceasefire.

Trump hosts Putin, a pariah in the West since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine , at talks in Alaska on Friday that the U.S. president has said will serve as a “feel-out” meeting in his efforts to end the Russo-Ukraine war.

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Trump agreed last week to the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021, abruptly shifting course after weeks of voicing frustration with Putin for resisting the U.S. peace initiative. Trump said his envoy had made “great progress” at talks in Moscow.

The U.S. president says both Kyiv and Moscow will have to cede land to end the war. Russian troops have already occupied almost a fifth of Ukraine

The unpredictability of how the summit will play out has fuelled European fears that the U.S. and Russian leaders could take far-reaching decisions and even seek to coerce Ukraine into an unfavourable deal.

“We are focusing now to ensure that it does not happen – engaging with U.S. partners and staying coordinated and united on the European side. Still a lot of time until Friday,” said one senior official from eastern Europe.

Trump’s administration tempered expectations on Tuesday for major progress toward a ceasefire, calling his meeting with Putin in Alaska a “listening exercise.”

The video conference among Trump, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union is expected to take place at 1300 GMT (1500 CET), a German government spokesperson said.

NATO’s secretary general will also attend the conference hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Ukraine hopes the meeting will serve – at least partially – as a European counterweight to the summit in Alaska.

European leaders, who are wary of provoking Trump’s ire, have repeatedly emphasised that they welcome his peace efforts, while underlining that there should be no deal about Ukraine without Ukraine’s participation.

Half a dozen senior European officials told Reuters that they see a risk of a deal being struck that is unfavourable for Europe and Ukraine’s security. They said European unity would be vital if that happened.

A source familiar with internal U.S. deliberations said it could not be ruled out that Trump would seek a deal directly with Putin without involving Ukraine or Europe. But the source voiced doubt about that, saying it could cause problems with Kyiv and the EU.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday the summit will be a “listening exercise” for Trump to hear what it will take to get to a deal.

After the call, Trump and Vice President JD Vance were expected to speak to European leaders at a separate online meeting at 1300 GMT (1500 CET), the German spokesperson said.

That will be followed at 1430 GMT by an online meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, a group of countries working on plans to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

MOUNTING BATTLEFIELD PRESSURE

A Gallup poll released last week found that 69% of Ukrainians favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also show Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means crushing concessions.

Ahead of the calls, Zelenskiy said it would be impossible for Kyiv to agree to a deal that would require it to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region, a large swathe of which is already occupied by Russia.

That, he told reporters on Tuesday, would deprive Ukraine of a vast defensive network in the region, easing the way for Russia to mount a new push deeper into Ukraine in the future.

Territorial issues, he added, could only be discussed once a ceasefire has been put in place and Ukraine has received security guarantees.

Moscow’s troops have recently ramped up pressure on the battlefield, tightening their stranglehold on the cities of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine.

Additional reporting by Sarah Marsh in Berlin and Steve Holland in Washington; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Kevin Liffey

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Ukraine said its forces are fending off Russian infantry units that pierced their defensive positions in the eastern Donetsk region.

On Tuesday, Kyiv’s military acknowledged that a small group of Russian troops bypassed Ukrainian positions near Dobropillia but rejected reports of a breakthrough.

Volodymyr Zelensky said small groups of Russian soldiers, each of 20-30 Russian troops, had advanced about six miles behind the frontlines. One of those groups had been killed or captured, and the others would be hunted down, he said.

Ukraine’s president also said in his overnight address that Kyiv would reject any Russian proposal to give up the Donbas region in exchange for a ceasefire, warning it could be used by Russia as a springboard for future attacks.

The move would require Mr Zelensky to order troops to withdraw from 9,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, handing Moscow a victory that its army couldn’t achieve militarily for more than a decade.

The Ukrainian president, who is set to speak with Mr Trump and European leaders by video call today, has also pushed for Kyiv to be included in peace talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

He said Moscow wants to create a narrative that “Russia’s advancing and Ukraine’s losing” at the summit, adding that he hoped Mr Trump would act as an honest mediator.