President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance will meet virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, ahead of a summit between the two leaders in Alaska. The meeting comes as tensions remain high between Russia and Ukraine, with large drone attacks continuing to exchange in both countries.
Zelenskyy stated that he believes Russia may want to end the war after speaking with Trump last week. He described the call as “positive” and noted that there were no demands or concrete proposals from the US, just discussions. However, Zelenskyy emphasized that it is still unclear what exactly Putin told Witkoff.
Despite the looming summit in Alaska, Zelenskyy stated that Putin was preparing for “new offensive operations.” Fierce front-line combat and long-range drone strikes are ongoing as the US and Russia prepare for the meeting. Ukrainian representatives will not attend the summit, but Zelenskyy’s office has said that everything is “very fluid.”
Zelenskyy warned that Putin does not intend to end the fighting, despite the upcoming summit. He stated that Putin wants a personal victory before continuing to apply pressure on Ukraine. The Ukrainian president also made it clear that Kyiv will not cede any territory to Russia and will not abandon its NATO ambitions.
Trump described the coming summit as a “feel-out meeting,” saying he would be telling Putin to end the war and determining if a deal can be made in the first two minutes of their meeting. The US and Russia prepare for Friday’s summit, which takes place in Anchorage, Alaska.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/zelenskyy-putin-preparing-end-war-despite-trump-summit/story?id=124567946