Dayo Ade Olusola|M10news|World News| 17 August 2025
Vladimir Putin made demands to take control of key regions of Ukraine during his talks with Donald Trump, according to multiple reports, setting out conditions for a possible peace settlement.
At their summit in Alaska, the Russian leader is said to have told the US president he wanted full control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions — in return, offering to give up other Ukrainian territories currently held by his troops.
Several outlets, citing sources familiar with the talks, reported the exchange as Mr Trump prepares to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday.
He has suggested that it could pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin.
While Mr Trump is reported to be supportive of the plans, Mr Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out formally handing over territory.
Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including most of Donetsk province, which Moscow first occupied in 2014.
Little detail after the summit
Few details emerged after Friday’s high-profile meeting between the US and Russian leaders. Despite threats of sanctions if no ceasefire was agreed, the short briefing ended without any mention of a suspension of fighting, an end to hostilities, or clarity about next steps.
On Saturday, however, Mr. Trump appeared to shift focus — saying he now seeks a permanent peace deal, not just a temporary truce.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement … not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump: ‘Russia is a big power’
In a Fox News interview, Mr Trump signalled that he and Mr Putin had discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine and claimed they had “largely agreed”.
“Ukraine has to make a deal,” he said. “Russia is a very big power — and they’re not.”
Monday’s meeting will be Mr Zelenskyy’s second visit to the White House this year.
His last ended in a heated clash with Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance, after which he left early.
Ahead of the talks, the Ukrainian president posted on X that he was “grateful for the invitation” and stressed the importance of direct conversations between leaders.
But he added: “Russia has rebuffed numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing, which complicates the situation.”
He continued: “If they lack the will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater peaceful coexistence with its neighbours for decades. But together we are working for peace and security. Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war.”
Putin: talks ‘timely and useful’
Mr Putin described the Alaska summit as “timely and quite useful” and said progress had been made.
“The removal of what we see as the root causes of the crisis must underlie any settlement,” he said in a statement. “The conversation was very frank and substantive, which, in my view, moves us closer towards making necessary decisions.”
European leaders to confer
European leaders are holding a joint conference call ahead of the crunch Trump-Zelenskyy talks.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will participate.
Sir Keir said Mr Trump’s involvement had “brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine” and praised his “leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing”.
But he added: “In the meantime, until Mr Putin stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions.”
Fighting continues
On the ground, Ukraine’s military reported an advance of up to 2km on the Sumy front in the northeast.
“Zones of continuous enemy fire damage are being maintained,” the General Staff said. “Ukrainian troops are repelling Russian forces.”
Meanwhile, Russia said a railway worker was injured and a power line was damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Voronezh region.
