Zelenskiy in Berlin for online meeting with Trump, European leaders
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Zelenskiy heads to Berlin for online meeting with Trump, European leaders
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travelled to Berlin on Wednesday for a German-hosted virtual meeting with Donald Trump and European leaders. European leaders are trying to drive home the perils of selling out Kyiv’s interests at the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021. Trump has said the Alaska talks will be a “feel-out” meeting as he pursues a ceasefire in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Polls show 69% of Ukrainians favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means crushing concessions. The “coalition of the willing’, a group of countries working on plans to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, will also convene online.
Europe’s leaders are trying to drive home the perils of selling out Kyiv’s interests at the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021.
Trump has said the Alaska talks will be a “feel-out” meeting as he pursues a ceasefire in Moscow’s war on Ukraine, having said last week, to consternation in Kyiv and Europe, that any deal would involve “some swapping of territories”.
Zelenskiy will meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before a video conference with the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT), the hosts said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also attend.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance will join the call at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).
Europe and Kyiv Fear Unpredictable Alaska Deal
The unpredictability of the summit in Alaska has fuelled Europeans’ fears that the U.S. and Russia could take far-reaching decisions over their heads 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.
European leaders, wary of angering Trump, have repeatedly said they welcome his efforts while stressing that there should be no deal about Ukraine – almost a fifth of which Russia has occupied – without Ukraine’s participation.
Trump’s administration tempered expectations on Tuesday for major progress toward a ceasefire, calling his meeting with Putin in Alaska a “listening exercise”.
Trump’s agreement last week to the summit with Putin was an abrupt shift 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.
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.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday the summit would be a “listening exercise” for Trump to hear what it would take to get to a deal.
After the meeting with Trump, the “coalition of the willing”, a group of countries working on plans to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, will also convene online.
Battlefield Pressure Mounts On Ukraine
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 indicate 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 a Russian push deeper into Ukraine in the future.
He said territorial issues could only be discussed once a ceasefire was in place and Ukraine had 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.
Source: Reuters
–Agencies
Zelensky says Ukraine, allies must resist Russian ‘deception’
Ukraine and its allies must work together to pressure Russia into ending its invasion, says President Volodymyr Zelensky. He is due in Berlin on Wednesday for talks with European leaders and Trump ahead of the US president’s summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The talks will include leaders from “Finland, France, Italy, Poland, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the U.S. president and his deputy” They are then expected to talk to Trump and Vice President JD Vance in a second round of talks of the so-called Coalition of the Willing of Ukraine’s military backers on Friday, a German government source said. It has fuelled fears Kyiv could be forced into painful concessions, including painful concessions over the mining hub of Dobropillia, which Moscow claims is part of Russia. It is also claimed that Russian forces have advanced by up to 10 kilometres (six miles), but ruled out swapping territory with Moscow.
Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Aug 13, 2025
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine and its allies must work together to pressure Russia into ending its invasion, ahead of talks in Berlin with European leaders and US leader Donald Trump.
“Pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace. We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
“There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war,” he added.
Zelensky is due in Berlin on Wednesday for talks with European leaders and Trump ahead of the US president’s summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian leader said he and his team had held more than 30 conversations with world leaders and high-ranking officials ahead of the talks.
The flurry of diplomatic engagements have been overshadowed by rapid, but so far limited Russian push in the eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia.
A member of the Ukrainian delegation travelling with Zelensky to Berlin told AFP that the Russian gains around the mining hub of Dobropillia “did not influence” preparation for Wednesday’s talks.
Zelensky conceded one day earlier that Russian forces had advanced by up to 10 kilometres (six miles), but ruled out swapping territory with Moscow as part of any deal with Russia.
Zelensky, European leaders to hold Ukraine online summit before Trump-Putin meet
Berlin (AFP) Aug 13, 2025 –
European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold online talks with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, hoping to convince him to respect Kyiv’s interests when he discusses the war with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Zelensky will travel to Berlin to join the afternoon video conference with the host, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a German government source told AFP.
Merz has also invited the French, British and other European leaders and the heads of the EU and NATO to take part in the talks.
They are then expected to talk to Trump and Vice President JD Vance in a second round of the conference call.
The Trump-Putin meeting on Friday is so far planned to go ahead without Zelensky. This has fuelled fears Kyiv could be forced into painful concessions, including over land.
EU leaders stressed on Tuesday “the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny”, adding that “international borders must not be changed by force”.
Zelensky, speaking to reporters Tuesday, ruled out withdrawing troops from the Donbas region which Moscow claims.
Merz’s office said the conference call would discuss “further options to exert pressure on Russia” and “preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”.
The talks would include leaders from “Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the US president and his deputy”, Berlin said on Monday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Merz are then also set to hold a round of talks of the so-called Coalition of the Willing of Ukraine’s military backers.
– ‘Difficult’ battles –
Trump on Monday played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska but said he expected “constructive conversations” with Putin.
“This is really a feel-out meeting a little bit,” Trump said at the White House, but he also added that eventually “there’ll be some swapping, there’ll be some changes in land”.
Russia, as a prerequisite to a peace settlement, has demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of several regions claimed by Moscow, commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support and be excluded from joining NATO.
Ukraine has said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.
Ukraine said Tuesday it was engaged in “difficult” battles with Russian forces after Moscow had made rapid advances in a narrow but important section of the front line in the country’s east.
Zelensky said on social media that “we see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations.”
burs/fz/fec/db
Ukraine’s Zelensky in Berlin for calls ahead of Trump-Putin meeting – live updates
Last chance for Europeans to remind Trump of their interests in Ukraine. UK’s Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Poland’s Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, EU leader Ursula von der Leyen.
Laura Gozzi
Europe reporter
This afternoon’s meeting brings together the UK’s Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Poland’s Donald Tusk, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, EU leader Ursula von der Leyen and Nato’s Mark Rutte.
Speaking to Trump on a virtual call is the closest any of them will get to taking part in Friday’s summit, to which none of them have been invited.
This call is about trying to remind him they feel the security of the whole European continent is at stake, to urge him to keep Ukraine’s interests in mind – and to not be swayed by Putin.
In an interview on Sunday, Merz said that Europeans could “not accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans, over the heads of Ukrainians.”
But now that Trump and Putin will be meeting thousands of kilometres away from the Ukrainian frontlines, the risk that momentous decisions about Europe will be taken without it has become a possibility.
Zelenskiy in Berlin for online meeting with Trump, European leaders
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Berlin on Wednesday for a German-hosted virtual meeting with Donald Trump and European leaders. The two men will take part in a video conference with the leaders of Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also attend. Trump and Vice President JD Vance will join the call at 3 p.M. (1300 GMT) Europe and Kyiv fear decisions being made over their heads at the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska on Friday. Trump has said the Alaska talks will be a “feel-out” meeting as he pursues a ceasefire in Moscow’s war on Ukraine, having said last week, to consternation in Kyiv and Europe, that any deal would involve “some swapping of territories” Russia says its war aims remain unchanged. Russia says it would require it to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region, a large swathe of which is already occupied by Russia.
Item 1 of 5 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) is welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz upon arrival in the garden of the chancellery in Berlin to join a video conference of European leaders with the US President on the Ukraine war ahead of the summit between the US and Russian leaders, on August 13, 2025. European leaders will hold online talks with US President Donald Trump, hoping to convince him to respect Ukraine’s interests when he discusses the war with Putin in Alaska on Friday. JOHN MACDOUGALL/Pool via REUTERS
Summary Trump meets Putin on Friday to discuss war in Ukraine
Europe and Kyiv fear decisions being made over their heads
Ukraine says unfair peace would not last long
Zelenskiy, Trump and Europeans meet online on Wednesday
Russia says its war aims remain unchanged
BERLIN/KYIV, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Berlin on Wednesday for a German-hosted virtual meeting with Donald Trump and European leaders, two days before the U.S. president meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Europe’s leaders are trying to drive home the perils of selling out Kyiv’s interests at the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021.
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Trump has said the Alaska talks will be a “feel-out” meeting as he pursues a ceasefire in Moscow’s war on Ukraine , having said last week, to consternation in Kyiv and Europe, that any deal would involve “some swapping of territories”.
Zelenskiy shook hands with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before disappearing into bilateral talks.
The two men will take part in a video conference with the leaders of Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union at 2 p.m. (1200 GMT). NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also attend.
Trump and Vice President JD Vance will join the call at 3 p.m. (1300 GMT).
“Will be speaking to European Leaders in a short while. They are great people who want to see a deal done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
EUROPE AND KYIV FEAR UNFAVOURABLE ALASKA DEAL
The unpredictability of the summit in Alaska has fuelled Europeans’ fears that the U.S. and Russia could take far-reaching decisions over their heads 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,” said one senior official from Eastern Europe.
Wary of angering Trump, European leaders have repeatedly said they welcome his efforts while stressing that there should be no deal about Ukraine – almost a fifth of which Russia has occupied – without Ukraine’s participation.
Trump’s administration tempered expectations on Tuesday, telling reporters the summit would be a “listening exercise” for him to hear what it would take to get to a deal.
Trump’s agreement last week to the summit was an abrupt shift 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.
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.
After the meeting with Trump, the “coalition of the willing”, a group of countries working on plans to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, will also convene online.
BATTLEFIELD PRESSURE MOUNTS ON UKRAINE
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 indicate 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 a Russian push deeper into Ukraine in the future.
He said territorial issues could only be discussed once a ceasefire was in place and Ukraine had received security guarantees.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev said Moscow’s stance had not changed since it was set out by Putin in June 2024
As preconditions for a ceasefire and the start of negotiations, the Kremlin leader had demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce its plans to join NATO.
Kyiv swiftly rejected the conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Additional reporting by Lili Bayer in Brussels, Madeline Chambers in Berlin, Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv and Steve Holland in Washington; Writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Kevin Liffey
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Live updates: Trump to speak with Zelensky and EU leaders ahead of summit with Putin
Friedrich Merz is about to host one of the most important meetings of his chancellorship. The virtual summit with fellow European leaders, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is a last ditch effort by the Europeans to impart their wishes, desires and hopes on Trump before he meets with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Friedrich Merz is about to host one of the most important meetings of his chancellorship. Either by design or coincidence, today also marks his 100th day in office.
The virtual summit with fellow European leaders, US President Donald Trump and crucially, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, represent a last ditch effort by the Europeans to impart their wishes, desires and hopes on Trump before he meets with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday – a face-to-face where there will be no place for Ukraine.
The sudden appearance of Zelensky in person in Berlin, no stranger to the German capital, is also highly symbolic.
It is yet another reminder that Europe stands firmly with Ukraine and is emitting the message that Ukraine must be involved in talks about ending the war Putin started when he launched his full-scale invasion of his neighbor back in February 2022.
For Merz, this is an important day, coming in the middle of the German summer political recess, he pushed to hold this meeting and will be hoping that he can present a clear unified voice to Trump.
Merz has focused on Ukraine a huge amount during his first 100 days. He’s made support for Zelensky and the Ukrainian people a priority. Part of that policy has been building a positive relationship with Trump. The two appeared to hit it off in a meeting in the White House in June.
We’re likely to hear from both Merz and Zelensky later. But we may only really learn about whether Trump will take Europe’s advice after Friday’s meeting in Anchorage.