Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Berlin for a virtual summit with European leaders and US President, Donald Trump.
The talks come ahead of a planned summit between Trump and Russian President, Vladimir Putin later this week.
German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz has arranged a series of virtual meetings, beginning with European leaders and followed by a call with Trump and US Vice President, JD Vance about an hour later.
The day will conclude with a separate discussion among leaders of the so-called “coalition of the willing” – an assemblage of Western countries allied with Ukraine.
Although many leaders, including Trump, will join via video conference, Zelenskyy has traveled to the German capital for the summit and will give a statement alongside Merz following the talks.
The virtual summit with fellow European leaders, the US President Donald Trump and crucially, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, represent a last ditch effort by the Europeans to impart their wishes, desires and hopes on Trump before he meets with Russia’s President in Alaska on Friday – a face-to-face where there will be no place for Ukraine.
The appearance of Zelenskyy in person in Berlin is also highly symbolic. It is yet another reminder that Europe stands firmly with Ukraine and is emitting the message that Ukraine must be involved in talks about ending the war Putin started when he launched his full-scale invasion of his neighbor back in February 2022.
For German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, this is an important day as today marks his 100th day in office. He pushed to hold the meeting and will be hoping that he can present a clear unified voice to Trump.
Trump has described Friday’s summit with the Russian leader in Alaska as “a feel-out meeting” to gauge whether Putin is serious about ending the conflict.
However, he has unsettled European allies by suggesting Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory and by floating the idea of land swaps, without specifying what Moscow might surrender.
Kyiv and European officials fear that any US–Russia agreement reached without them could legitimise Moscow’s seizure of Ukrainian territory – including Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson – four regions which are partly occupied by Russia.
European governments have insisted Ukraine must be part of any peace negotiations, warning that excluding Kyiv could benefit Moscow.
Russia Says Consultations Requested By European Countries “Insignificant”
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Alexei Fadeev said that consultations requested by European countries were “insignificant.”
He added that Russia’s position on ending its war on Ukraine was set out by President Vladimir Putin in June 2024 and has not changed. Putin at that time demanded a full Ukrainian withdrawal from the four regions of the country that Russia has claimed as its own territory but does not fully control.
Fadeev disclosed that Trump and Putin would discuss “all the accumulated issues” at the meeting, “starting with the Ukrainian crisis and ending with the obstacles to establishing a normal, functional bilateral (US-Russia) dialogue,” which he called essential for “ensuring international peace and stability.”
He also confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov will take part in the Alaska summit on Friday.
Meanwhile, fighting continues along the front line, with the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reporting 165 clashes with Russian forces over the past day, with the heaviest fighting in the Pokrovsk, Novopavlivka and Lyman sectors.
The Ukrainian General Staff said that its forces were engaged in “difficult” fighting near Pokrovsk in Donetsk, a key logistical hub for Kyiv’s forces, whose capture would deal a significant blow to its front-line defences and prospects at securing a favourable peace deal with Russia.
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