Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the planned summit between U.S. President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that any peace deal excluding Kyiv would lead to “dead solutions.”
In a statement posted to Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s territorial integrity, enshrined in its constitution, must be non-negotiable and emphasized that lasting peace must include Ukraine’s voice at the table.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
Touching on Ukrainian anxieties that a direct meeting between Mr. Trump and Putin could marginalize Kyiv and European interests, Zelenskyy said: “Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work.”
Mr. Trump and Putin are planning to meet in Alaska on Friday, August 15 – a summit that is seen as a potential breakthrough.
A senior White House official told CBS News that planning for the summit is fluid and it is still possible that Zelenskyy could end up being involved in some way.
Two sources told CBS News Saturday that Mr. Trump is willing to do a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy and Putin. The sources noted that at the moment, however, the meeting remains bilateral, which was the format requested by Putin.
In response to the pending summit, several European leaders issued a joint statement Saturday night in which they said they were “convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed.”
“Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny,” said the statement issued by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Finish President Alexander Stubb. “Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
It went on: “We underline our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. We continue to stand firmly by the side of Ukraine.”
The White House said earlier this week that Mr. Trump is open to meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, but Mr. Trump suggested Friday he may start by meeting just Putin. He told reporters he plans to “start off with Russia.” Mr. Trump also said he believes “we have a shot at” organizing a trilateral meeting with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.
In his comments to reporters, Mr. Trump also suggested that any agreement would likely involve “some swapping of territories,” but he gave no details.
His announcement that he planned to host one of America’s adversaries on U.S. soil broke with expectations that they’d meet in a third country. The gesture gives Putin validation after the U.S. and its allies had long sought to make him a pariah over his war against Ukraine.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance met with European national security advisers on Saturday in the United Kingdom to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, sources told CBS News. The meeting took place at the Chevening House in Kent, where Vance is vacationing with his family.
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The meeting, said to be at the request of the U.S., included discussions on the next steps in Mr. Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine.
“Today’s hours-long meetings produced significant progress toward President Trump’s goal of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine, ahead of President Trump and President Putin’s upcoming meeting in Alaska,” a U.S. official told CBS News.
Ukrainian officials had previously told the Associated Press privately that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognize Ukraine’s inability to regain lost territories militarily.
The summit would be the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and an American leader since former President Joe Biden met with his Russian counterpart in Switzerland in June 2021, eight months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“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,” Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Saturday in a statement posted to the Kremlin’s news channel.
Such a summit may prove pivotal in a war that began more than three years ago when Russia invaded its western neighbor and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although there’s no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.
Two people died and 16 were wounded Saturday 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 Saturday 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.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 97 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight into Saturday, and 21 more on Saturday morning.