Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a conference in 2017 (EPA)

EA on RTE: Why Ukraine Will Survive Trump-Putin Meeting

Friday’s Coverage: Zelensky and Europe Prepare for Trump-Putin Meeting

UPDATE 1712 GMT:

Ukrainian and European officials have rejected Vladimir Putin’s demand for Ukraine to cede all of two eastern regions, as well as occupied territory in the south and Crimea.

The officials offered a counterproposal ahead of Friday’s talks in Alaska between Putin and Donald Trump.

“Two European officials familiar with the talks” emphasized that that European Union representatives should be involved in any negotiation with Russia, reiterating that Ukraine’s future cannot be discussed without Kyiv’s participation.

The counterproposal — presented to Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg and Russia envoy Steve Witkoff, calls for establishment of a ceasefire before any further steps. It stipulates that territory can only be exchanged on a reciprocal basis.

UPDATE 1344 GMT:

Ukrainian UAVs have struck a storage facility for Iran-type attack drones deep inside Russia.

The UAVs flew about 1,300 km (800 miles) to hit the facility in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Tatarstan Republic. A fire was set in the complex.

“The Security Service continues its systematic efforts to demilitarize Russian military facilities deep inside enemy territory. Storage sites for Shahed drones, which the enemy uses to terrorize Ukraine every night, are among our legitimate military targets,” said Ukraine’s State security service SBU.

UPDATE 1300 GMT:

As American officials meet Ukrainian and European counterparts in London, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is continuing his calls with Europe’s leaders.

Zelensky has spoken with the heads of government in the UK, Estonia, and Denmark today. He emphasized that, despite Donald Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska next Friday:

We see no shifts in Russia’s position. The Russians still refuse to stop the killings, continue investing in the war, and persist in pushing the idea of an “exchange” of Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, with consequences that guarantee nothing except more advantageous positions for the Russians to resume the war. All our steps must bring us closer to a real end to the war, not to its reconfiguration. And our joint decisions with partners must work toward collective security.

Zelensky also highlighted the path to European Union accession for both Ukraine and Moldova.

UPDATE 1111 GMT:

Ukrainian forces struck the Yenisei radar station, part of Russia’s advanced S-500 air defense system, in Russian-occupied Crimea on Thursday.

Drones attacked multiple high-value military targets, including a fast assault landing craft and three radar stations.

The Yenisei radar station is used in both the S-400 and S-500 air defense systems.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency described the strike as a “significant blow” to the capabilities of Russian forces in Crimea.

UPDATE 1102 GMT:

Two civilians have been killed and 19 injured by a Russian drone strike on a bus in the suburbs of Kherson city in southern Ukraine.

The Russians attacked at around 8 a.m., causing concussions, blast injuries, and shrapnel wounds. The victims range from 23 to 83 years old, with two in serious condition.

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak responded:

On Friday, Russia targeted 36 settlements, including Kherson city. One civilian was slain and three injured, including a child.

The casualties were among at least eight civilians murdered and at least 24 injured over 24 hours.

Air defenses downed only 16 of 47 drones overnight. The other 31 hit targets in 15 locations.

The Russians also fired two Iskander-K missiles.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, three civilians were killed and 10 injured.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in the south, two people were killed amid 585 strikes across 11 settlements.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine, a 56-year-old woman was killed and four civilian injured.

Casualties were also reported in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.

UPDATE 0704 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has emphasized in a video statement that “Ukrainians will not give their land to occupiers”.

Zelensky said Kyiv is ready for real solutions to halt Russia’s invasion but explained, “Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing….[The invasion] cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Donald Trump will meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska next Friday to discuss Russia’s 41 1/2-month full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social site. Vladimir Putin’s senior foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed the date and location.

Earlier on Friday, the reality TV star made a muddled statement in which he said “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” Ukraine and Russia.

Well you’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three-and-a-half years… So we’re looking at that but we’re actually looking to get some back. Some swapping, it’s complicated. We’re going to get some back. We’re going to get some switched.

Trump did not mention his “deadline”, set for yesterday, for Russia to cease fire or face toughened US sanctions, including on its trading partners such as India and China.

Bloomberg reported that a proposed deal, discussed by US and Russian officials, that would confirm Moscow’s seizure of parts of Ukraine. It was not clear if the confirmation would be a legal recognition of Putin’s “annexation” of parts or all of four regions — Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south — as well as Crimea, or just a de facto acknowledgement of Russian occupation and a freezing of the frontline.

On Wednesday, Putin proposed to Trump’s visiting envoy Steve Witkoff that Russia halt attacks in exchange for all of the two eastern regions, said European and Ukrainian officials.

European officials expressed serious reservations, noting that Putin is stringing out talks to avoid the secondary sanctions broached by Trump. They cited a lack on clarity over the future of the territory occupied by Russian forces in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

US senior officials will meet with Ukrainian and European counterparts in the UK ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, said “three sources with knowledge of the plans”.

Map: Institute for the Study of War

Zelensky: “Everything Depends on Right Pressure on Russia”

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky focused on Russia’s ongoing, deadly attacks on Ukraine’s civilians:

There is already a lot of support, and it comes in the new circumstances, with a deadline now set for Russia to cease fire. So far, we see that the Russians are ignoring it – at least for now….

We are speaking with our partners to ensure real steps are taken. We are in constant communication with the American side, and our partners, for their part, are also engaging with the United States. All are united in the understanding that there is a chance to achieve at least a ceasefire, and that everything depends on the right pressure on Russia.

“A Freeze in the Conflict”?

Before Trump’s statement, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said:

There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition, that perhaps a freeze in the conflict – I don’t want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict – is closer than it is further away. There are hopes for this.

Tusk is one of the European leaders who have been conferring with Zelensky about the Trump-Putin meeting. He said Zelensky was “very cautious but optimistic” about a ceasefire, while keen that European countries play a role in planning for the ceasefire and an eventual settlement ending the invasion.

The Kremlin has ruled out any meeting which includes Zelensky. Ushakov said Witkoff had proposed a three-way meeting with Trump and Putin, following the Trump-Putin discussion, but the suggestion was ignored.

Putin said earlier this week, “I have nothing against [a meeting with Zelensky] in general, it is possible, but certain conditions must be created for this. Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”