Raphael Kanu
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine fully withdraw from the Donetsk region in exchange for halting military offensives in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, sources confirmed following his high-stakes summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.
The two leaders met for more than two and a half hours on Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson but stopped short of announcing a ceasefire agreement. At a brief press conference afterward, Putin alluded to an “agreement” and Trump spoke of “great progress,” though neither offered specifics and both declined to take questions before leaving the stage.
Trump later told reporters he would update Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the talks and confirmed that Zelenskyy will travel to Washington on Monday for direct discussions at the White House. The Kremlin, however, denied Trump’s claim that a trilateral meeting involving all three leaders had been discussed.
According to officials familiar with the talks, Putin’s demand would force Ukraine to give up the remaining unoccupied third of Donetsk — a belt of key defensive cities — potentially leaving Kyiv dangerously exposed to future re-invasion. Trump suggested that the United States might provide security guarantees to Ukraine if such a deal were pursued, but offered no details on what that would entail.
The summit also carried an unexpected personal touch. White House officials confirmed that First Lady Melania Trump had written a letter to Putin expressing concern about Ukrainian children abducted during the war, which the president hand-delivered during the meeting. Zelenskyy has repeatedly accused Russia of kidnapping thousands of children, calling it one of the most painful aspects of the conflict.
Reaction in Europe was swift. In a joint statement, European leaders welcomed Trump’s diplomatic push but warned against territorial concessions made without strong protections. “Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement said, adding that “international borders must not be changed by force.”
Trump, meanwhile, has indicated that he favors a long-term solution over temporary measures. On his social media platform, he argued that “the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often does not hold up.”
The Alaska summit highlighted both the possibilities and pitfalls of Trump’s role as mediator. While Putin placed his most ambitious demand on the table and Trump promised to bring Zelenskyy into the next phase of talks, uncertainty lingers over whether Ukraine or its allies would accept terms that involve ceding contested territory. With Zelenskyy’s Washington trip set for Monday, the next round of diplomacy could determine whether the war edges closer to peace or remains locked in deadlock.