Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders will speak to Donald Trump at a virtual meeting today ahead of his summit with Vladimir Putin. Elsewhere, Russian authorities said Ukrainian drones caused a small fire at an oil refinery in the southern region of Krasnodar. Follow the latest below.
Wednesday 13 August 2025 09:45, UK
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David Blevins: Trump-Putin summit pitched as ‘transparent’ – but it’s hard to find a path to peace
Michael Clarke, our military analyst, is back later today to answer your Ukraine war questions.
It could be a hugely significant week for the future of the conflict and peace in Europe, with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meeting in Alaska on Friday.
With Volodymyr Zelenskyy sidelined from the talks, can we expect a peace deal?
Use the form at the top of this page to get in touch with your question for Clarke before what could be a pivotal meeting. He’ll answer them live at 2pm.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday at the remote Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, a US military installation in Anchorage, Alaska.
Elmendorf-Richardson combines the Air Force’s Elmendorf base and the US Army’s Fort Richardson.
It is Alaska’s largest military base and is home to more than 32,000 people – about 10% of Anchorage’s population.
The area is also significant for Russia: the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire 158 years ago.
In fact, Alaska’s Little Diomede Island is less than three miles from Russia’s Big Diomede Island in the Bering Strait, showing how geographically close the two countries are.
During the Cold War, the base was regarded as “particularly important” in defending the US against the then-Soviet Union, according to the Library of Congress.
Despite this proximity, Putin will be the first Russian president to visit Anchorage.
Elmendorf-Richardson hosts aircraft like the F-22 Raptor – a fighter jet the Air Force says “cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft”.
The US defence department describes the area as having “picturesque, majestic, snow-capped mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers, and plenty of wildlife”.
It also advises visitors attempting to drive to the base to bring emergency kits, food, blankets and extra fuel, as it is so remote.
Some have criticised Trump’s decision to hold talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Alaska.
“It’s easy to imagine Putin making the argument during his meetings with Trump that, ‘Well, look, territories can change hands,'” said Nigel Gould-Davies, former British ambassador to Belarus.
“‘We gave you Alaska. Why can’t Ukraine give us a part of its territory?'”
Any agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin when they meet on Friday could leave Ukraine in an impossible position after three years of brutal, grinding war for survival.
There has been speculation the two leaders could agree a so-called ‘land for peace’ deal which could see Ukraine instructed to give up territory in exchange for an end to the fighting.
That would effectively be an annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory by Russia by force.
Will this mean Ukraine has to surrender its crucial “fortress belt” of cities that has held back Russian invaders for 11 years?
Here, foreign news reporter Michael Drummond looks at what a “land for peace” deal could involve ahead of the Trump-Putin summit…
German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz has cut his holiday short to come back and host today’s emergency meeting on Ukraine.
The reason he’s done that, Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins explains, is that he sees Friday’s summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as having the chance to define the future security of Europe.
He’ll be joined in person by Volodymyr Zelenskyy for today’s series of calls with European leaders and the virtual meeting with Trump and JD Vance.
“They really want to lay their cards on the table. They want to put forward what they think are red lines to Donald Trump,” Robbins says.
“To suggest to him, for example, that Ukraine shouldn’t be forced to give up land without a meaningful peace deal. To remind him that it wasn’t Ukraine which started this war in 2022.
“That’s really what they’ll be trying to do. This is essentially a team meeting.
“But the problem with team meetings is that you will have to be on the same page. And it isn’t clear if the US is.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in Berlin today, his spokesman said.
A bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planned too, the spokesman added.
The pair will both deliver press statements at around 3pm UK time, according to the German chancellery’s schedule.
Ukraine’s air force says Russia launched 51 drones and missiles at the country overnight.
Of those, it said 32 drones and two missiles were either shot down or suppressed.
Drones attacked the Donetsk, Sumy and Chernihiv regions, the air force added, while it said the missiles targeted Poltava region.
Some 17 drones were recorded hitting 15 locations.
By David Blevins, US correspondent
It’s beginning to feel like “Midnight Sun” diplomacy.
In parts of Alaska, the sun doesn’t set in summer, casting light through the night but leaving you disorientated.
Friday’s Trump-Putin summit is pitched as “transparent” but it’s difficult to find any path to peace right now.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has reduced it to a “listening exercise” where Donald Trump will seek a “better understanding” of the situation.
There isn’t much to understand – Russia wants territory, Ukraine isn’t ceding it – but Leavitt rejects talk of them “tempering expectations”.
It’s possible to be both hopeful and measured, she says, because Trump wants peace but is only meeting one side on Friday.
It’s the fact that he’s only meeting Vladimir Putin that concerns European leaders, who fear Ukraine could be side-lined by any Trump-Putin pact.
Ukrainian drones caused a small fie at an oil refinery in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar last night, authorities said.
The region’s administration said there were no casualties at the Slavyansk plant and that the fire was quickly put out.
Russia’s defence ministry said air defence units destroyed 46 Ukrainian drones overnight, including five over the Krasnodar region.
The Slavyansk refinery is a private plant with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day, supplying fuel for both domestic use and export.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, which says its strikes inside Russia aim to destroy infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts, including energy facilities.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders will speak to Donald Trump at a virtual meeting today ahead of his summit with Vladimir Putin.
Trump hosts Putin at talks in Alaska on Friday that the US president has said will serve as a “feel-out” meeting in his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
He’s also said both Kyiv and Moscow will have to cede land to end the war, prompting concerns from Europe that Trump and Putin will start to forge the makings of a peace deal without input from Ukraine.
“We are focusing now to ensure that it does not happen – engaging with US partners and staying coordinated and united on the European side. Still a lot of time until Friday,” one senior European official told the Reuters news agency.
Trump’s administration tempered expectations yesterday for major progress toward a ceasefire, calling the meeting with Putin a “listening exercise.”
Today’s video conference will begin at 1pm UK time. European leaders are expected to speak to Trump at around 2pm UK time.
Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union will take part, according to a German government spokesperson.
NATO boss Mark Rutte will also attend the conference, which is being hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Good morning and welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Later today, European leaders will hold virtual talks with Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be joined by the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland and the European Union for the call, which is scheduled to start early this afternoon.
It comes after 26 EU leaders issued a joint statement yesterday, warning that Ukraine must have a role in deciding its future.
We’ll bring you all the news from today’s talks and plenty of other live updates here, so stay tuned.
And remember, our military analyst Michael Clarke is back later today to answer your Ukraine war questions. Use the form at the top of the page to submit your question for the Q&A at 2pm.
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