Won’t give up lost territory, says Zelenskyy as Trump, Putin agree to Alaska meet for deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Saturday the planned summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that any peace deal excluding Kyiv would lead to “dead solutions.”

The Trump-Putin meeting, scheduled for Friday in Alaska, is seen as a potential breakthrough. Trump had previously agreed to meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with Zelenskyy, stoking fears Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent’s biggest conflict since World War II.

In a statement posted to Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's territorial integrity, enshrined in the constitution, must be non-negotiable and emphasised 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 Putin and Trump could marginalise 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.”

Ukrainian officials had previously said that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognise Ukraine’s inability to regain lost territories militarily.

“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 on 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 neighbour 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.

In comments to reporters at the White House before his post confirming the date and place, Trump suggested that any agreement would likely involve “some swapping of territories,” but he gave no details. 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.

Trump said his meeting with Putin would come before any sit-down discussion involving Zelenskyy. His announcement that he planned to host one of America’s adversaries on US soil broke with expectations that they’d meet in a third country.

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

India welcomes summit

India had welcomed the decision of US and Russia to hold a meeting on August 15 and said it supported and endorsed the summit.

The Ministry of External Affairs said “welcome the understanding reached between the United States and Russia Federation for a meeting in Alaska on August 15.”

This meeting holds the promise of bringing to an end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and opening up the prospects for peace. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said on several occasions, “This is not an era of war”, the MEA statement said.

“India, therefore, endorses the upcoming summit and stands ready to support these efforts,” it added.

India’s relations with Russian on purchases of crude oil and sourcing weapons has led to US and its European allies accusing New Delhi of funding the conflict with Ukraine.

US President Trump has imposed trade penalties on India for its ties with Russia.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had spoken over the phone and re-affirmed a commitment to ‘deepen’ the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi posted about the same on social media platform X saying “We reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership”.

Putin also briefed Modi on latest developments concerning Ukraine. The Russian President had, on August 6 , met with US President Donald Trumps ‘s Special Envoy Steven Witkoff in Moscow and he mentioned that to Modi

Modi had reiterated “India’s consistent position for peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict”.