Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, August 13, 2025 (Ralf Hirschberger/AFP)

EA on France 24: Can Ukraine-Europe Get Progress from Trump-Putin Meeting?

EA on International Outlets: Anticipating Trump-Putin Meeting on Russia’s Ukraine Invasion

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Countering the Spectacle and Threat of the Putin-Trump Meeting

UPDATE 1541 GMT:

Indian refineries are continuing to shift purchases away from Russia amid the threat of toughened secondary sanctions by the Trump Administration.

State-owned refineries began suspending supplies last month, and Donald Trump subsequently said a 25% tariff would be raised to 50% because of Indian oil purchases from Russia.

This week state companies Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum secured supplies from the US, Brazil, and Middle Eastern producers for September-October delivery.

India has sharply increased Russian oil imports since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, taking advantage of discounts and falling European demand. It is the world’s largest buyers of Russian seaborne crude, importing about 80% of Urals oil.

UPDATE 1530 GMT:

Donald Trump maintains that Vladimir Putin “wants to get it done” at their meeting in Alaska in Friday.

He said his threats of sanctions on Russia and its trading partners may have brought Putin to the table. “Everything has an impact,” he said, declaring that secondary tariffs against India “essentially took them out of buying oil from Russia”.

He asserted, “Certainly, when you lose your second largest customer and you’re probably going to lose your first largest customer, I think that probably has a role.”

Trump said he would call Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky immediate after the discussion with Putin to “get him over to wherever we are going to meet”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said:

To achieve peace, I think we all recognise that there’ll have to be some conversation about security guarantees.”

There’ll have to be some conversation about…territorial disputes and claims, and what they’re fighting over.

Asked about a ceasefire, he said, “We’ll see what’s possible tomorrow.”

UPDATE 1347 GMT:

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 168 prisoners of war, 84 on each side.

The UAE mediated the swap.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said 51 military personnel and 33 civilians were freed, some of whom had been held since 2014, 2016, and 2017. Among those released were defenders of Mariupol, the port city in southeast Ukraine overrun by Russia on May 2022 after 12 weeks of bombing, ground assaults, and siege that killed 10,000s of people.

UPDATE 1326 GMT:

Russia is closing on a record for murders and injuries of civilians during its 41 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine.

At least 1,674 civilian casualties, 286 killed and 1,388 wounded, were recorded in July, said UN human rights monitors. The toll is the highest since May 2022.

Russian use of long-range weapons such as missiles and loitering munitions accounted for almost 40% of the casualties. Short-range drones were the cause of 24%.

UPDATE 1136 GMT:

The European Commission has welcomed Donald Trump’s acceptance of a US security guarantee for Ukraine.

A spokesman said:

It doesn’t matter exactly how he arrived to this point.

The important aspect is that the US has said that they are willing to do so. And of course, we very much welcome all efforts that will guarantee the possibility for Ukraine to be in a solid position to defend itself.

After meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said they discussed “in considerable detail the security guarantees that can make peace truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killings and engage in genuine, substantive diplomacy”.

The two leaders also discussed “mechanisms for weapons supplies,” with Zelensky urging Starmer to join NATO countries funding new weapons for Ukraine through purchases from the US.

Zelensky cited Ukraine’s plans to “increase production volumes” of drones, with the country “urgently needing financing for this”.

UPDATE 1051 GMT:

Participants in Wednesday’s call with Donald Trump have paid tribute to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for bringing Trump around to the proposals of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.

They hailed Rutte’s clear, direct language. He explained that if Russia were allowed to control cities in eastern Ukraine permanently, it would open up “a motorway to Kyiv” for Russian troops.

Participants recounted watching the “light go on” for Trump, who said he did not intend to negotiate territorial concessions.

Zelensky and the Europeans followed a plan in which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “would present his case concisely, the others would respond briefly, and there would be no lengthy monologues”.

Officials said the role of Finnish President Alexander Stubb was valuable, as he has “formed an unexpected bond” with Trump after they played golf and subsequently chatted on the phone regularly.

At the end of the one-hour conversation, the Ukrainian delegation “applauded loudly”.

UPDATE 1020 GMT:

Supporting analyses that Vladimir Putin will try to “flip” Donald Trump over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin says Friday’s encounter in Alaska will begin with a one-on-one meeting with no other officials.

A meeting of delegations will follow.

Attempting to maintain the exclusion of Ukraine and its European partners, the Kremlin said discussions will focus on a “reset of relations” beyond Russia’s invasion.

The Russian delegation will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; Defense Minister Andrey Belousov; Finance Minister Anton Siluanov; the head of Russia’s sovereign fund, Kirill Dmitriev; and Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

UPDATE 1008 GMT:

Ukrainian drones struck a refinery in the Russian city of Volgograd overnight, causing large fires.

The Lukoil refinery processes more than 15 million metric tons of oil every year, amounting to 5.6% of Russia’s refining capacity.

UPDATE 0948 GMT:

At least eight civilians have been murdered and at least 18 injured, including children, by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 24 of 45 drones overnight.

Russia also fired two S-300/400 missiles.

In the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, four people were killed and six injured by drone and artillery strikes targeting residential areas and infrastructure. More than 100 houses, a gas pipeline, a medical vehicle, and agricultural equipment were damaged.

In the Donetsk region in the east, three civilians were slain and three injured in strikes on Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk, and Rodynske.

In the neighboring Kharkiv region, one person was killed and another injured in shelling and drone attacks on six settlements.

Casualties were also reported in the Sumy region.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Following a video call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and nine European leaders, Donald Trump has warned of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Moscow does not end its 41 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine.

Trump praised the call, ahead of his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, as “very good…I would rate it at 10, you know, very, very friendly.”

He indicated that he would accept the Zelensky-Europe insistence that he not agree to a “deal” on Putin’s terms. Instead, he pointed to a second meeting including Zelensky.

However, if he “didn’t get the answers that we have to have”, then there would be “very severe consequences” for the Russians.

Despite the warning, Trump was pessimistic that he could get Putin to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine with misisle and drone attacks.

I’ve had that conversation with him. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home, or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the street.

So I guess the answer to that is no, because I’ve had this conversation.

A European diplomat summarized, “Overall the meeting was reassuring in that our points came across, but the question remains whether Trump will stick to the agreed script when he gets into the room with Putin.”

Zelensky’s 5 Principles

After the call and further discussion with international leaders of the “Coalition of the Willing”, Zelensky set out five principles for talks.

  • Negotiations must include Ukraine;
  • A ceasefire must be the priority;
  • Ukraine must have firm security guarantees;
  • Ukraine must retain its “European and NATO prospects”;
  • Russia must face tougher sanctions if it did not negotiate and continued its attacks.

Unifed Support for Ukraine

The call with Trump included the leaders of six European countries — France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Finland, and Poland — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Each of them issued statements of support for Ukraine after the discussion.

Merz, who hosted Zelensky in Berlin for the call, emphasized that a ceasefire must be the first step towards a lasting arrangement ending Russia’s invasion: “Borders must not be changed through violence” and any territorial discussions need to be related to the frontline.

He stressed that European partners want to push for “robust safety assurances for Ukraine”, with increased pressure if “there’s no movement on the Russian side”. Trump “largely shared” the European position in their “very good, constructive talk”.

Zelensky said, “Our mood now is that we are united, and it was very positive [as] all the partners spoke in one voice, one desire, the same principles and the same vision and this is an important step forward.”

The President will be hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday. Starmer said yesterday that there is now a “viable” chance for a Ukraine ceasefire, with the Coalition of the Willing drawing up workable military plans and ready to add pressure on Russia through sanctions.