{"id":160615,"date":"2025-08-14T06:07:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T06:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-live-zelensky-to-meet-starmer-ahead-of-trump-putin-summit-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T06:07:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T06:07:10","slug":"ukraine-live-zelensky-to-meet-starmer-ahead-of-trump-putin-summit-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-live-zelensky-to-meet-starmer-ahead-of-trump-putin-summit-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine live: Zelensky to meet Starmer ahead of Trump-Putin summit – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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European leaders met virtually with Zelensky and Merz ahead of Trump\u2019s summit with Putin on Friday
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<\/a>Donald Trump<\/a> has threatened Vladimir Putin with \u201csevere consequences\u201d if the Russian leader does not agree to a ceasefire after crunch talks in Alaska<\/a> this week.
The US<\/a> president did not say what these would be, but has previously threatened Moscow<\/a> with harsh sanctions if it did not agree to a truce in Ukraine.
It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> said Mr Trump told European leaders he supports a ceasefire and the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine and discussed America\u2019s willingness to \u201ctake part\u201d in this.
The Ukrainian president was speaking after a virtual meeting with Mr Trump and other European leaders, as Kyiv<\/a> presses its case on the US president ahead of the landmark meeting on Friday.
\u201cAll the partners demonstrated one voice, one desire, and one principle. The same principle and the same vision. This is an important step forward,\u201d he added.
Zelensky said Putin has demanded Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk<\/a>, but vowed Ukraine would \u201cnever leave\u201d the Donbas<\/a> and warned Putin\u2019s troops could use it as a spring board for a future invasion.
Any peace deal that would see Ukraine<\/a> cede territory to Russia<\/a> in hopes of ending the war would be deeply unpopular with the Ukrainian people.
It would also be illegal under the country\u2019s constitution.
US President Donald Trump<\/a>, who is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a> in Alaska\u2019s Anchorage on Friday, has suggested that a concession involving a swap of Ukrainian territories<\/a> would be \u201cto the betterment of both\u201d sides.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically rejected the suggestion<\/a>.
Kyiv “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done”, Mr Zelensky said.
Donald Trump<\/a> is meeting Vladimir Putin<\/a> in Alaska<\/a> in what the US<\/a> president has said may be little more than a \u201clook see\u201d<\/a>, but in truth may prove an encounter<\/a> that defines Europe -and global security – for decades.
From Trump\u2019s perspective, the summit may be part <\/a>of his drive for a Nobel Peace Prize by ending Putin\u2019s war against Ukraine<\/a> using the \u201cart of the deal\u201d. Putin, however, is likely to prevail and his agenda is the art of the steal \u2013 specifically a massive grab<\/a> of his neighbour\u2019s land.
Missing from the meeting is the country most affected \u2013 Ukraine itself. Led by Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>, it has held out against the Kremlin for 11 years.
Donald Trump<\/a> and Vladimir Putin<\/a> will sit face-to-face <\/a>for the first time in seven years on Friday for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine<\/a>.
The Russian president<\/a> will fly into Anchorage, Alaska<\/a>, where he will meet his US<\/a> counterpart at a remote military installation which plays host to some of America\u2019s most fearsome fighter jets. It has been visited by several US presidents<\/a> in the past.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson<\/a>, Alaska<\/a>\u2019s largest military base<\/a>, combines the Air Force<\/a>\u2019s Elmendorf base with the US Army<\/a>\u2019s Fort Richardson.
Vladimir Putin<\/a> has \u201conly one card\u201d left to play<\/a> \u2013 to prolong the killing in Ukraine<\/a>, according to a senior source in Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s presidential office<\/a> as Europe held top-level talks ahead of the Alaska summit this week.
Zelensky has not been invited to Friday\u2019s meeting <\/a>between Vladimir Putin<\/a> and Donald Trump<\/a>. And there are deep concerns that the US president will emerge from the encounter<\/a> taking an even harder line on Ukraine.
Europe\u2019s leaders, including Keir Starmer, have been corralling US officials and White House insiders, and met virtually with the Oval Office to try to persuade Trump to use the leverage<\/a> he has over Putin to get him to agree to a ceasefire.
In an ironic twist, US president Donald Trump is set to discuss the war in Ukraine with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at a military base in Alaska that was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the height of Cold War and still plays a role today.
The meeting is scheduled to take place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
The base created by merging Elmendorf Air Force Base and Army Fort Richardson in 2010 has played a key strategic role in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union during much of the Cold War.
Throughout its long history, the base hosted large numbers of aircraft and oversaw operations of a variety of early warning radar sites that were aimed at detecting Soviet military activity and any possible nuclear launches. It earned the motto “Top Cover for North America” at this time, according to the base website.
While much of the military hardware has since been deactivated, the base still hosts key aircraft squadrons, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet. Planes from the base also still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into US airspace.
US president Donald Trump said he would rate his call with Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders as a 10.
Asked if it was his decision not to invite Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Mr Trump said: \u201cNo, just the opposite.
\u201cWe had a very good call, he was on the call, President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly.\u201d
He added: “It was always going to be, I was going to meet with President Putin, and then after that, I’m going to call the leaders and President Zelensky, I’m going to call President Zelensky, and then I’ll call, probably, in that order, the leaders.
\u201cThere’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I’m going to find out where we are and what we’re doing.”
Mr Trump described the war as “Biden’s war”, adding: “This war would have never happened if I were president. But it is what it is, and I’m here to fix it.”
There will be \u201csevere consequences\u201d if Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire following crunch talks in Alaska, Donald Trump warned.
Mr Trump was “very clear” in a virtual meeting Wednesday with European leaders that the US wants to achieve a ceasefire at the upcoming US-Russia summit in Alaska, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
In the same meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, he told the group that Putin \u201cis bluffing\u201d ahead of the planned meeting with Mr Trump.
Mr Putin, Mr Zelensky said, “is trying to apply pressure … on all sectors of the Ukrainian front” in an attempt to show that Russia is “capable of occupying all of Ukraine.”
EU leaders have rallied behind Ukraine after praising a \u201cvery good call\u201d with US president Donald Trump ahead of his landmark summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said the next few days and weeks could be decisive in the Ukraine peace process.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was a “very good call”.
“Today Europe, the US and NATO have strengthened the common ground for Ukraine.
“We will remain in close coordination. Nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace.”
German chancellor Friedrich Merz described the meeting with Trump as “constructive” and said that “important decisions” could be made in Anchorage, but stressed that “fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected” at the summit.
Leaders of the US, Ukraine and Europe discussed possible locations for a follow-up meeting between US president Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump said on Wednesday there was a \u201cvery good chance\u201d of Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky meeting after his crunch summit with the Russian leader in Alaska on Friday
Possible locations include cities in Europe and the Middle East, according to sources close to the matter.
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Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inNext articleEuropean leaders met virtually with Zelensky and Merz ahead of Trump\u2019s summit with Putin on FridayFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":160616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}