Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump ‘open to’ Zelensky attending Alaska summit with Putin

Along-overdue summit between the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation to discuss peace in Ukraine, where nuclear war has been threatened, must be seen as a historic moment for optimism.

Except that from London to Langley, Berlin, Canberra and Tokyo, intelligence chiefs will be on tenterhooks wondering whether this is another occasion resembling the meeting between an agent and his handler.

There’s no evidence that Donald Trump works for Vladimir Putin. But there is ample evidence that the US president favours Putin’s agenda. And that he has done all he can to hobble Ukraine while it attempts to defend itself against a Russian invasion of Europe’s eastern flank.

The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has firmly rejected Vladimir Putin’s proposal for Ukraine to cede territory in exchange for a ceasefire, warning it would only invite future Russian aggression.

In his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky said Russia must face consequences for its invasion, pointing to the West’s failure to punish Moscow after the 2014 annexation of Crimea as a mistake that led to wider war.“

Putin was allowed to take Crimea, and this led to the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk… Now Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing even more,” Zelensky said.

“We will not allow this second Russian attempt to divide Ukraine. Where there is a second, there will be a third.”

His statement comes ahead of a planned 15 August summit in Alaska between Donald Trump and Putin, where the two are expected to discuss a possible ceasefire plan, which would reportedly see Russia halt hostilities in return for Ukraine handing over its eastern territories.

European leaders have welcomed Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine but insist any peace deal must protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and European security.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland, and the European Commission said they supported diplomatic efforts but warned that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine”.

They also emphasised that international borders “must not be changed by force” and said the “current line of contact should be the starting point for any negotiations”.

The statement followed a meeting at Chevening House in the UK, where US vice president JD Vance met foreign secretary David Lammy, Ukrainian and European officials to discuss Trump’s planned 15 August summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Ukraine’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who attended the Chevening talks, said a ceasefire was essential but stressed: “The front line is not a border.”

European officials reportedly presented a counterproposal, with one negotiator telling the Wall Street Journal: “You can’t start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting.”

Donald Trump’s announcement that he planned to host one of America’s adversaries on US soil broke with expectations that they would meet in a third country.

The gesture gives Vladimir Putin validation after the US and its allies had long sought to make him a pariah over his war against Ukraine.

Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the AP that the “symbology” of holding the summit in Alaska was clear, and that the location “naturally favors Russia”.

“It’s easy to imagine Putin making the point: ‘We once had this territory and we gave it to you, therefore Ukraine had this territory and now should give it to us’,” he said, referring to the 1867 transaction known as the Alaska Purchase when Russia sold Alaska to the US for $7.2 million.

US president Donald Trump is ‘open’ to holding a three-way summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Alaska, a White House official has said.

For now, a bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin is set for 15 August in Alaska, following a request from the Kremlin.

Asked if an official invite had been extended to Zelensky, a senior White House official said: “The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”

Trump has claimed the parties are close to a deal that could end the three-and-a-half-year conflict, suggesting it may involve “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both”.

No details have been confirmed, but any such arrangement could require Ukraine to give up significant territory, an outcome strongly opposed by Zelensky and European leaders, who say it would only embolden Russia.

A Ukrainian drone attack has damaged an industrial facility in Russia’s Saratov region, according to the local governor, reported Reuters.

Roman Busargin posted on the Telegram app writing that emergency services were at the scene following the overnight strike. At least one person has died as a result of the attack.

He did not specify what kind of site was targeted.

The Trump-Putin meeting may prove pivotal in a war that began when Russia invaded its western neighbor and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although there is no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.

“It seems entirely logical for our delegation to fly across the Bering Strait simply, and for such an important and anticipated summit of the leaders of the two countries to be held in Alaska,” Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said on Saturday in a statement posted to the Kremlin’s news channel.

In his comments to reporters at the White House on Friday, Trump gave no details on the “swapping of territories”. Analysts, including some close to the Kremlin, have suggested that Russia could offer to give up territory it controls outside of the four regions it claims to have annexed.

On Saturday, two people died and 16 were wounded when a Russian drone hit a minibus in the suburbs of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two others died after a Russian drone struck their car in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov.

Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 16 of the 47 Russian drones launched overnight, while 31 drones hit targets across 15 different locations. It also said it shot down one of the two missiles Russia deployed.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 97 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight and 21 more Saturday morning.

Donald Trump has claimed the end of the Ukraine war could come in weeks, despite his latest deadline for Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire expiring once again.

Last Monday, Trump dramatically shortened his previous 50-day ultimatum, giving Russia “10 to 12 days” to make progress toward peace or face tougher sanctions.

Sources close to the Kremlin say Putin is unlikely to bow to Trump’s threats, believing Russia holds the upper hand in the war and that the potential benefits of improved ties with Washington do not outweigh his military aims.

My colleague Steffie Banatvala reports: