Zelensky warns Trump that Putin is ‘bluffing’ ahead of Alaska summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he warned US President Donald Trump ahead of his talks with Vladimir Putin this week that the Russian leader was “bluffing” about his desire to end the war. Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday, where Kyiv and its allies are worried the two leaders may try to dictate the terms of peace in the 3½-year war. “I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing,” he said at a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine.” Zelensky’s comments, made after a virtual call with Trump and European leaders, come as Russian forces step up pressure on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, aiming to force Kyiv to give up land. Zelensky, who said he hoped the main topic of the talks in Alaska would be an immediate ceasefire, added that any discussions regarding territory should be covered during a three-leader meeting. “Regarding our principles and territorial integrity, in the end this is all decided at the level of leaders,” he said. “Without Ukraine, it is impossible to decide this. And by the way, everyone also supports this.” Zelensky said Trump told him he would debrief him about his talks with Putin. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters after the call with Trump, agreed that any decision on territorial concessions would need to be made by Ukraine. “Trump was very clear on the fact that the US wants to obtain a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska,” he told reporters in France on Wednesday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated that Ukraine would need to be involved in any decisions. “We have made it clear that Ukraine will be at the table as soon as there is a follow-up meeting,” Merz told reporters. “President Trump wants to make a ceasefire a priority.” US Vice-President J.D. Vance, addressing American soldiers at a military base in England on Wednesday, said Trump wanted peace. “I just talked to him right before I came on the stage, and he said very simply that we are going to make it our mission as an administration to bring peace to Europe once again,” Vance said. The discussions came after days of intense diplomacy between US, European and Ukrainian officials ahead of Trump’s meeting with Putin scheduled for Friday in Alaska. Moscow is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas region to Russia as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014, as a condition to unlock a ceasefire and enter negotiations over a lasting settlement, Bloomberg previously reported. Such an outcome would require Kyiv to give up parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces still under Ukraine’s control and hand Russia a victory that its army couldn’t achieve militarily for more than a decade. Zelensky told reporters earlier this week that he won’t cede Donbas, adding that the Kremlin could use it as a launch pad for a future new offensive. European nations have made clear to the US that they will not formally recognise territory illegally occupied by Russia. Kyiv and its allies argue that a truce along the current battle-lines should be the first step toward formal negotiations. European leaders also stressed to Trump that Ukraine needs robust security guarantees to ensure that any deal holds. “If there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans should and must increase the pressure,” Merz said. “President Trump is aware of this position and largely shares it.” Trump hasn’t implemented any direct measures against Moscow so far, though he doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent last week for its purchases of Russian oil, sparking outrage in New Delhi. He threatened to ramp up economic pressure on Moscow unless Putin agreed to a ceasefire by last Friday. That deadline passed without any further action after the two sides announced their first summit meeting since Trump’s return to the White House in January. European leaders also said that Trump, Putin and Zelensky could aim to formalise a ceasefire alongside an agreement on the core parameters for peace negotiations at a trilateral meeting, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Zelensky warns Trump that Putin is ‘bluffing’ ahead of Alaska summit

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The comments came after Trump’s virtual meeting with European leaders, which prioritised a ceasefire and future talks on Ukraine’s territorial issues

The comments came after Trump’s virtual meeting with European leaders, which prioritised a ceasefire and future talks on Ukraine’s territorial issues