Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a statement as Donald Trump prepares for an in-person meeting with Vladimir Putin, marking their first encounter since 2019.
Before taking office as the 47th President of the United States, Trump claimed he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of resuming his role in the White House.
However, ending the conflict in Eastern Europe has proven more challenging, with Russia and Putin remaining uncooperative. Trump is optimistic about a potential breakthrough, as he is scheduled to meet Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15, to discuss the possibility of ending the war.
“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
“Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Previously, Trump had suggested that a peace agreement might involve territorial exchanges, a notion that Kyiv continues to resist.
CBS News reports that the White House is attempting to persuade European leaders to agree to a peace deal requiring Ukraine to cede territories in the Donbas, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions to Russia.
This proposal would also allow Russia to retain control over Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
CBS indicates that the proposed deal from the White House would have Russia relinquishing control over Ukrainian regions such as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces currently have some presence.
In a message shared on Telegram on Saturday, August 9, Zelenskyy rejected the idea of Ukraine surrendering any territory.
“The answer to Ukraine’s territorial question is already in the constitution of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president remarked. “No one will and no one can deviate from it. Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”
“Any solutions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time, solutions against peace. “They will not bring anything. These are dead solutions, they will never work.”
The meeting between Trump and Putin coincides with the deadline Trump set for the Kremlin to establish peace with Ukraine, which passed on Friday, August 8.
Approximately two weeks ago, Trump mentioned the possibility of imposing additional sanctions on Russia and introducing secondary tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward peace with Ukraine.
The outcomes of the upcoming meeting will be revealed in the following days.