Ukraine, Trump warns Putin: 'Stop the war or there will be serious consequences'

Russia will suffer "serious consequences" if it doesn't "stop the war": Trump issued the warning two days before the mid-August summit with Putin, after consulting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he called a "10/10" meeting. The meeting in Alaska with the Russian leader will be a "preparatory" meeting for the possible continuation of peace negotiations, the US president added. And if it goes well, he announced, "there will be a second meeting shortly with Putin and Zelensky, which I will also attend if they wish." An announcement from the US president is expected at 7:00 PM today, the White House announced without providing details.

Europeans, to varying degrees, expressed satisfaction with Trump's reassurances, particularly that no territorial swap with Russia could take place unless agreed to by Kiev. But Moscow has come down hard. The "principled position" for peace in Ukraine remains "unchanged" from what Putin announced last year, the Foreign Ministry announced. This includes the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four regions claimed by Moscow (Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson) and Kiev's refusal to join NATO. As for the consultations "requested by the Europeans," Trump is "politically and practically meaningless," said a spokesman, Alexei Fadeyev, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department. "In words," Fadeyev added, "they support Washington and Moscow's diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, but in reality the European Union is sabotaging them." And US experts and a Western source believe that Moscow could test its new Burevestnik nuclear missile this week, raising the possibility that it could overshadow the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced it has issued a "license" authorizing Russians to conduct transactions while in the United States for this week's meeting in Alaska between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the New York Times reports. The license, which expires on August 20, suspends certain sanctions so that Russian officials can purchase goods on American soil.

Alarmed by his exclusion from Friday's summit, Zelensky yesterday went so far as to call it a "personal victory" for Putin. This assertion was refuted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "A meeting is something you do to clarify positions and make a decision," and this "is exactly what the president wants to do," stressed Washington's foreign minister. He recently spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "Both sides confirmed their commitment to ensuring the success of the event," the State Department stated.

Trump, for his part, reiterated his desire for "the war to end," but remained tight-lipped about what he would say to Putin. European Council President Antonio Costa, however, expressed confidence that the tycoon would adhere to the European line. "President Trump," Costa said, "shared three very important objectives with us: first, the ceasefire; second, that no one other than Ukraine can negotiate matters concerning Ukraine (and therefore also the territories, ed.); and third, the United States' willingness to share with Europe the efforts to strengthen security once we have achieved a lasting and just peace for Ukraine." Emmanuel Macron was more cautious. "The conversation with Donald Trump allowed us to clarify his intentions and, for us, to express our expectations," the French president clarified. "We," Macron added, "want everything concerning Ukraine to be discussed with Ukraine."

On the substance, the most explicit was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who stated that Ukraine is ready to "negotiate on territorial issues," but "legal recognition of the Russian occupation is not up for discussion." This suggests possible territorial transfers, but without officially recognizing them as Russian. And in any case, Macron added, "Territorial issues concerning Ukraine will be negotiated only by the Ukrainian president; this is the position we support." Regarding Ukrainian neutrality, which is an integral part of Moscow's demands, Zelensky stated that "Russia cannot veto Ukraine's intentions regarding its membership in the European Union and NATO."

Meanwhile, Russia is further accelerating its offensive in eastern Ukraine, aiming to strengthen its position ahead of the summit. The Defense Ministry has claimed the capture of two more villages in the Donetsk region, where the Ukrainian governor has ordered the mandatory evacuation of families with children from dozens of localities. According to an AFP analysis of data provided by the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian military has made its largest 24-hour advance in over a year, capturing or reclaiming control of an additional 110 square kilometers. Meanwhile, Zelensky has claimed that Ukrainian forces have so far liberated six of the 18 villages occupied by the Russians in the northern Sumy region.