Aletho News

NATO membership, $1tn in reparations: Zelensky maps out ‘red lines’ ahead of Putin–Trump summit

The Cradle | August 13, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin on 13 August for virtual meetings with European leaders and US President Donald Trump, ahead of talks between the president and Vladimir Putin in a summit in Alaska later this week.

Hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky held an online meeting with officials from Finland, France, Britain, Italy, Poland, the EU, and NATO.

A source told Reuters that Trump and US Vice President JD Vance joined the call afterwards.

According to POLITICO, Ukraine planned to use the Wednesday meeting to “map out red lines” aimed at deterring Russia from using the meeting with Trump to achieve its goals.

Recent comments by Ukrainian officials indicate skepticism from Kiev over the Trump–Putin summit.

“I don’t expect any breakthrough from this summit. Putin did not abandon his ultimate goal to destroy Ukraine. He can only agree to a ceasefire that will create the conditions for our destruction,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the foreign relations committee in the Ukrainian parliament.

Earlier this week, Zelensky said, “We understand the Russians’ intention to try to deceive America – we will not allow this.”

“We support what President Trump wanted – a ceasefire, and then sit down at the negotiating table and talk about everything else,” he told reporters on Tuesday, vowing not to give up any territory and retreat from the frontlines. “We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do this. Donbas for the Russians is a springboard for a future new offensive. If we leave Donbas of our own free will or if we are pressured, we will open a third war.”

“[Putin] doesn’t want the occupation of our state from the point of view of territory. He doesn’t want a sovereign Ukraine to exist. And that’s the whole endgame,” Zelensky added.

An informed source told POLITICO on 12 August that “If Kiev does ultimately have to make some compromise as part of a final deal based on the realities on the battlefield, it will then only talk about the territorial matters after Russia agrees to and sticks to a ceasefire.”

According to the outlet, Ukraine is doubling down on demands for an unconditional ceasefire before moving ahead with any negotiations, retaining all territory it has captured, $1 trillion in reparations from Russia, NATO membership, and unconditional release of all prisoners.

“Additional pressure through economic sanctions on Putin is necessary to reach a ceasefire agreement. We will not give up any territory in Donbas, and there will be no discussion on Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Zelensky said on Wednesday.

As the Berlin meetings were going on, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the capture of two communities in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

“Battlegroup Center units liberated the settlements of Suvorovo and Nikanorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic through active and decisive operations,” the ministry said.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the start of this year, Russian media reported on 1 August, citing weekly Defense Ministry reports.

A third round of Turkish-hosted ceasefire talks between Moscow and Kiev last month failed to yield significant progress.

The US and Russia had held talks in Saudi Arabia in March this year, agreeing to establish a path to ending the Ukraine conflict.

However, Trump recently announced that Washington will be sending “massive” supplies of weapons to Ukraine, in what was described as a significant policy shift.

He also issued a 50-day deadline for a deal to be made, after which he would impose 100 percent tariffs on Russia. Late last month, Trump announced plans to shorten this deadline.

August 13, 2025 - Posted by aletho | Militarism | NATO, Russia, Ukraine