Donald Trump rejected Minsk, Vladimir Putin rejected Rome, and in the end they agreed to meet in Alaska. Europe and the United Kingdom are pushing for Volodymyr Zelensky to also be present at the meeting. Neither Trump nor Putin have commented. Meanwhile, the White House has made it known that it is currently planning only a bilateral meeting at Putin’s request, not a trilateral one.
Russia and the United States are neighbors, so it is logical that the leaders’ summit should take place in Alaska, Ushakov said. He also confirmed the date of August 15. It should be noted that Russia and the United States are 80 km apart in that region of the world. This will be Putin’s first visit to the US since his visit to the UN General Assembly in 2015, and the first visit to the country by a Russian leader.
Talks between the presidents of Russia and the United States could take place in the city of Girdwood, according to local publication Alyaska Landmine, citing a source. “We have been informed that the meeting… could take place at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. It is interesting to note that the dates from August 12 to 16 are completely absent from their booking calendar,” writes Alyaska Landmine on H. Kommersant notes that at 11:20 a.m. (Moscow time) on August 11, the hotel cannot book rooms only for the 14th and 15th.
Bookmakers Polymarket have increased the probability of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine by October 1 to 29%. US Vice President J.D. Vance in an interview with Fox News: “I don’t think it would be right for Putin and Zelensky to meet before the meeting between Putin and Trump. They are working to coordinate such a meeting to discuss ending the war.”
“The meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska is a slow defeat for Ukraine,” — CNN. The plan proposed by US Special Envoy Witkoff, according to which Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the remaining parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in exchange for a ceasefire, is under discussion. The article states that Zelensky has already rejected the idea of territorial concessions, but, according to analysts, such a format threatens Ukraine with the loss of key cities without a fight. Europe fears that the scenario will repeat the “peace breaks” that the Kremlin has exploited to reorganize its forces. “Putin gets his first official visit to the US in a decade, an opportunity to discuss ‘peace’ without Kiev’s participation and the chance to conquer new territories without firing a shot,” CNN notes.
WSJ: “In the first phase, Ukraine will withdraw from the eastern DPR, and the front lines will be frozen. In the second phase, Putin and Trump will work out a final peace plan to discuss with Zelensky. Putin will then propose a law guaranteeing non-aggression against Ukraine and Europe,” the publication says.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is developing a new system with NATO for the sale of American weapons to Europe, which can be transferred to Ukraine, CNN reports, citing sources. “Essentially, this mechanism will allow the creation of a NATO bank account to which allies can transfer money for the purchase of weapons in the United States,” the publication says.
Europe and Kiev have presented their proposal for resolving the Ukrainian conflict ahead of the upcoming Putin-Trump talks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Kiev and Europe propose, first of all, to achieve a ceasefire, as well as to exchange territories based on the principle that “if Ukraine withdraws troops from some regions, Russia must withdraw troops from others.” Representatives of Kiev conveyed this plan to J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, and Keith Kellogg. It is also stated that “any territorial concessions by Kiev must be backed by solid security guarantees, including potential NATO membership.”
On August 10, in a statement published on the British Foreign Office website: “We remain committed to the principle that international borders cannot be changed by force. The current line of contact must be the starting point for negotiations.” The statement was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Kaja Kallas has convened a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss the upcoming Russia-US summit on Ukraine, in order to demand that the interests of Brussels and Kiev be taken into account, Reuters reports. The head of the EU diplomatic service said that “any agreement between the United States and Russia must include the EU and Ukraine.”
According to the television station, Ukraine will send NATO a list of desired weapons and equipment. NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Alexus Grinkevich, will then determine whether the US has sufficient stocks to sell before providing the lists to European partners for potential purchase, NBC reported.
On August 9, the Pentagon authorized the transfer of weapons and equipment originally intended for Ukraine to US warehouses. An airlift for heavy weapons supplies has begun from the US to Ukraine.
The European Union has approved the fourth payment to Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility mechanism, according to a statement from the EU Council. The tranche will amount to over €3.2 billion. The EU has specified that the funds are intended to strengthen macro-financial stability and ensure the functioning of Ukraine’s public administration system.
Ukraine may soon lose the support of the Czech Republic in the European Union, writes the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ). This is due to the upcoming parliamentary elections, which will be held on October 3 and 4. The leader in the polls is former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who criticizes aid to Kiev and advocates for rapid negotiations with Moscow.
The peace process is moving in the right direction, Ukraine is moving closer to peace. But we are faced with difficult compromises: there will be no more 1991 borders, said the head of the Rada’s financial committee, Getmantsev. “There are already signs of real demands from Russia, not fictitious, but real. The United States has them. And this creates a solid basis for agreements,“ he noted. Earlier it was reported that Russia’s Eastern Front provided the United States with a list of demands for a potential ceasefire. The surrender of Donbass will force Ukraine to abandon the ”belt of fortresses” that has held Russia back for 11 years, according to ISW.
The answer to the Ukrainian territorial issue is already in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one can or will back down from this. Ukrainians will not surrender their land to the occupier, – Zelensky. “Ukraine is ready for concrete solutions that can bring peace. Any solution against us, any solution without Ukraine, is also a solution against peace. It will bring nothing. These are dead solutions, they will never work. And we all need real, living peace that people respect,” he said.
Sixty-nine percent of Ukrainians surveyed want the war to end as soon as possible through negotiations, while 24% believe that the war with Russia should continue until victory, according to a poll by the American Gallup Institute.
It is interesting to note that after the Putin-Witkoff meeting, Russia began talks with India, China, Brazil, BRICS donor countries, and countries heavily affected by Trump’s tariffs. It cannot be ruled out, therefore, that behind the Ukrainian issue there are agreements to establish an anti-European trade union.
CBS News: “This week, Putin, through his envoy Witkoff, delivered an order to senior CIA officer Julian Gallina, whose son died fighting in the Russian army in Ukraine in 2024. It is unclear from the message what he did with the order.”
And now a look at the front line, updated at 3:30 p.m. on August 11. Kiev has intensified its drone attacks on the rear and frontline regions. Yesterday, from 7:55 a.m. to midnight Italian time, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported a total of 106 drones shot down. In the Tula region, two people were killed and three were injured to varying degrees. One person was killed and two were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in Arzamas, in the Nizhny Novgorod region; the target of the attack was the city’s industrial areas (Arzamas instrument factory). Drones approaching Moscow were shot down.
Russian Gerans attacked transport infrastructure used by the Ukrainian armed forces: in the Dnipropetrovsk region, more than 20 attack drones flew towards the Sinelnikovo 1 railway station.
In the Bryansk region, three attacks in two different districts left two people injured and vehicles destroyed.
In the Kursk border area, near Tetkino, mutual shelling is underway, with the Ukrainians striking Russian reinforcements with artillery and drones, opening shelters with “Baba Yaga” drones. LBS unchanged, Russian counterattacks do not allow the Ukrainian armed forces to attempt to break through the border with small infantry groups.
In the direction of Sumy – heavy fighting in Yunakivka, Ukrainian armed forces are counterattacking. Three counterattacks by assault groups from the 71st separate brigade and the 425th separate regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces aboard armored vehicles were repelled.
In the direction of Kharkiv – fighting near Vovchansk and in the direction of Synelnykove.
In the Belgorod region, 18 villages are constantly being bombed by Ukrainian drones.
In the direction of Pokrovsk, the offensive of the Russian armed forces north of Myrnohrad is rapidly developing. The Ukrainian armed forces now classify the areas of the settlements of Zolotoy Kolodez and Kucheriv Yar as a gray zone, the Russians have consolidated near the settlement of Nove Shakhove in the eastern part of Nykanorivka and occupied the ravine area west of Boikivka. Ukrainian channels explain the loss of positions by the Ukrainian armed forces to the newly arrived Russian army forces that have been introduced into battle.
In the direction of Kostyantynivka, battles are taking place near the Kleban-Bykske reservoir. A post by a Russian soldier states: “It is necessary to clear the area and level the front for further advancement.”
On the Zaporizhzhia front, Russian airborne units are advancing, despite numerous Ukrainian counterattacks on Kam’yans’ke and Plavni, as well as the high intensity of Ukrainian drones of all types. Assault groups from the 7th Airborne Division have already consolidated their positions in Stepnohirs’k, but this cannot be described as secure control, as the positions of the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces are mixed in the area from Kam’yans’ke koye to Stepnohirs’k. Stepnohirs’k is surrounded on several sides at once.
On the Kherson front, Ukrainian authorities are evacuating civilians from Karantynnyy Ostriv island, while Russian troops are increasing the number of attacks on Ukrainian positions, occupying the coastline in place of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Graziella Giangiulio
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