Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House, August 6, 2025 (AP)

Wednesday’s Coverage: Zelensky’s “Productive” Discussion with Trump on Eve of Witkoff’s Visit to Kremlin

UPDATE 1448 GMT:

Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine have created an online “catalog” offering Ukrainian children for adoption based on physical traits such as eye or hair color, says Mykola Kuleba, CEO of the Save Ukraine organization.

The database of 294 children was set up by the Education Department of the Russian occupation in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

“Parents of some of them were killed by occupation authorities, others were simply issued Russian identification documents to legitimize their abduction,” notes Kuleba.

Ukraine has identified more than 19,500 children abducted during Moscow full-scale invasion and forcibly transferred to Russia, the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, or Belarus. Only 1,480 have been brought back home.

Ukrainian officials estimate the real figure could be far higher. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets puts the number at up to 150,000, while Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Daria Herasymchuk has given a range of 200,000 to 300,000.

UPDATE 1349 GMT:

Vladimir Putin has pushed back against any meeting with Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Putin said “certain conditions should be created” for such a meeting, and the current situation was “far” from satisfactory.

After meeting UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, Putin said the Emirates could host his one-on-one meeting with Trump.

UPDATE 1340 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has met commanders about “deep strikes” inside Russia.

Zelensky said discussion covered updates on “the scale of damage inflicted on Russia, the cost-effectiveness of each strike, and the impact on the aggressor’s war machine”.

Continuing his calls with European leaders, Zelensky spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron over “coordinating our positions” on “the need for a common European view on key security issues for Europe”.

We remain mindful of the need for a real ceasefire.

Ukraine is ready for it, and there has been no clear public response from Russia yet.

The near future must show what the consequences will be if Russia continues to drag out the war and disrupt constructive efforts.

UPDATE 1111 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about Wednesday’s meeting between Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin.

The German Government said in a statement:

Both acknowledged the American president’s mediation efforts and agreed that Russia must end its war of aggression, which violates international law.

Both agreed to maintain close contact with European partners and the United States.

The Chancellor assured the Ukrainian president of his continued support.

Zelensky posted:

UPDATE 1106 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have struck multiple high-value Russian military targets in occupied Crimea, including a fast assault landing craft and three radar stations, says Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR.

“After serious losses of air defense facilities on the peninsula….Russian occupiers in Crimea have begun hiding their expensive military facilities in dome structures,” the agency said.

One dome was targeted. The Ukrainian military said it housed equipment of the 3rd Radio Technical Regiment of Russia’s air defense forces.

UPDATE 1101 GMT:

Russia’s Central Bank says the economy, fuelled since 2022 by expenditure for the invasion of Ukraine, is now almost at a standstill.

The Russian economy expanded by just 1.4% in the first quarter of 2025, a third of the increase in 2024. It slightly improved to 1.8% in the second quarter; however, the Central Bank expects a slowdown to 1.6% in the third quarter, and between 0% and 1% in the final months of the year.

The annual growth of 1% to 2% in 2025 is expected to slowto 0.5% to 1.5% in 2026.

UPDATE 0817 GMT:

Vladimir Putin’s senior foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov says a meeting with Donald Trump is planned for the near future are underway, and the venue has already been agreed.

Ushakov said on State TV, “We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues.

But he implicitly rejected a follow-up meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky:

As for a three-way meeting, which for some reason Washington was talking about yesterday, this was just something mentioned by the American side during the meeting in the Kremlin. But this was not discussed. The Russian side left this option completely without comment.

UPDATE 0813 GMT:

At least six civilians have been killed and 35 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 89 of 112 drones. The other 23 drones struck 11 locations.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine, four civilians were murdered and 13 injured. In the Donetsk region in the east, two were slain and six wounded.

Casualties were also reported in the Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions.

UPDATE 0803 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted about conversations with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb and forthcoming calls with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The priorities are absolutely clear.

First – an end to the killing, and it is Russia that must agree to a ceasefire.

Second – a format for leaders, so that such a meeting can lead to a truly lasting peace. We in Ukraine have repeatedly said that finding real solutions can be truly effective at the level of leaders. It is necessary to determine the timing for such a format and the range of issues to be addressed.

Third – long-term security. This is possible together with the United States and Europe.

He emphasized, “Ukraine has never wanted war and will work toward peace as productively as possible. The main thing is for Russia, which started this war, to take real steps to end its aggression. The world has leverage over the aggressor and the means to verify whether promises are being kept.”

UPDATE 0542 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have reportedly struck an oil refinery and a railway station in overnight attacks inside Russia.

The Afipskiy oil refinery in the Krasnodar region in southwest Russia was targeted.

A logistics hub for diesel fuel and aviation kerosene for the Russian military, the refinery processes 6.25 million tons of oil annually.

Videos on social media claimed to show a large fire in the area of the refinery. Residents heard explosions through the night.

Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev claimed a man was injured by drone debris in Slavyansk-on-Kuban. A military facility in the community was afire, independent outlet Astra reported, citing local residents.

The railway station is in the town of Surovikino in the Volgograd region.

Videos posted on social media by local residents showed flames rising from the railway station. Governor Andrei Bocharov said the fire was in an administrative building, with no damage to railway infrastructure.

UPDATE 0538 GMT:

Two men and a woman were killed and four injured by Russian artillery fire on Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region on Wednesday.

The strike hit a car belonging to the state emergency services. One of those slain was an emergency worker.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: As Russia tries to avoid a ceasefire in its 41 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine, Donald Trump says he will meet Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, and then Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump made the announcement after Putin suggested the meeting to his envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, in the Kremlin. Declaring “great progress” in their discussion without giving any details, Trump said:

Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come.

Officials said Trump told Zelensky and other European leaders, in a call after the Witkoff-Putin meeting, of the schedule.

But soon after the revelation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to pull back Trump’s timetable. He said he did not want to exaggerate the advance in Witkoff’s talks with Putin. Many “impediments” to peace remained, especially concerning Russia’s attempt to seize part of Ukraine, and there was no concrete proposal for a ceasefire.

Hopefully if things continue to progress an opportunity will present itself for the President to meet with both Vladimir Putin and President Zelensky, hopefully in the near future. But obviously a lot has to happen before that can occur.

What we have is a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be willing to end the war.

The US now needs to compare that with “what the Ukrainians are willing to accept”, Rubio said.

Trump was asked by a reporter, “You said you’d know if Putin was fooling you. What gives you confidence he isn’t doing that now?”

He replied: “Can’t answer the question yet. I’ll tell you in a matter of weeks, maybe less.”

Zelensky: “Russia Must End the War that It Started”

Posting about the call with Trump and European partners, Zelensky said:

Our joint position with our partners is absolutely clear – the war must end. And it must be done honestly. European leaders were on the call, and I am grateful to each of them for their support. We discussed what was spelled out in Moscow.

Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it itself started.

He added in his nightly address to the nation, “It seems that Russia is now more committed to a cease-fire. The pressure on them is working. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us or the United States in the details.”

The European leaders on the call with Trump included UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer; Finland’s President Alexander Stubb; German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany; and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

One official said several European leaders were surprised by Trump’s plan and later expressed skepticism that it will have an effect. But “another person familiar with the call” said the Europeans appeared to accept what Trump said.

A White House official said that, although the Witkoff-Putin meeting went well, the Administration intends to proceed with secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners on Friday.

Trump earlier ordered a hike in the tariff on India from 25% to 50% because of its purchases of Russian oil.