US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conscionable successful the Oval Office of the White House successful Washington, DC, Feb. 28, 2025.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Sidelined from forthcoming talks betwixt Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump to negociate an extremity to the war, Ukraine has warned the satellite that Moscow is not to beryllium trusted and is readying caller offensives.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said quality and subject officials had briefed him connected Monday "on what Putin is counting connected and what helium is really preparing for," saying "this includes subject preparations."
"He is surely not preparing to cease occurrence oregon extremity the war," Zelenskyy said successful his nightly address.
"There is not a azygous motion that the Russians person been told to hole for a post-war concern – not yet. On the contrary, they are moving their troops and forces successful ways that bespeak they program to motorboat caller violative operations. No 1 preparing for bid acts this way," helium added.
"Putin's sole purpose is to contiguous a gathering with America arsenic his idiosyncratic triumph and past proceed acting arsenic before, putting unit connected Ukraine arsenic before," the president warned. CNBC has contacted the Kremlin for a effect to Zelenskyy's claims and is awaiting a response.
The occupation for Ukraine is whether anyone is listening.
Neither Zelenskyy nor European officials are invited to the Trump-Putin talks successful Alaska connected Friday, overmuch to their consternation.
Ukraine has vehemently stated that nary woody astir its aboriginal tin beryllium struck successful its absence, amid fears that it could beryllium forced to cede Russian-occupied territory to Moscow arsenic portion of a bid deal. European leaders, meanwhile, are pushing powerfully for Ukraine's engagement successful the talks. The U.S., for its part, has said it is considering inviting Zelenskyy, NBC News reported.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited Trump to articulation Zelenskyy and European leaders erstwhile they clasp an exigency telephone connected Tuesday day successful anticipation of Friday's talks. The virtual acme will reportedly absorption connected ways to unit Russia, the destiny of Ukrainian territories seized by Russia and imaginable information guarantees for Kyiv.
'Feel-out' meeting
Trump suggested connected Monday that determination could "some swapping" of territory arsenic portion of a bid woody though helium insisted the U.S. "would effort to get immoderate of that territory backmost for Ukraine."
"There'll beryllium immoderate swapping, there'll beryllium immoderate changes successful land," Trump told reporters astatine the White House, though helium downplayed immoderate expectations of what could travel of the talks, describing them arsenic a "feel-out meeting."
"We're going to spot what helium has successful caput and if it's a just deal, I'll uncover it to the European Union leaders and to NATO leaders and besides to President Zelensky," Trump said.
Geopolitical analysts hold that the talks are improbable to output a broad and long-lasting solution to the more-than-three twelvemonth struggle betwixt Russia and Ukraine, fixed the complexity of the war, its underlying causes and the fig of stakeholders involved.
Instead, the talks "should beryllium seen arsenic the Trump administration's effort to measure whether determination is abstraction for a mutually acceptable compromise — astatine slightest connected prime issues," Andrius Tursa, Central and Eastern Europe advisor astatine hazard consultancy Teneo, said successful emailed comments Monday.
"Even successful a best-case scenario, immoderate high-level statement would necessitate aggregate rounds of hard follow-up talks to resoluteness implementation issues. This would beryllium different enactment for Moscow to gully retired the talks, hoping to capitalize connected its gradually expanding vantage connected the frontlines," helium noted.
The Kremlin whitethorn question to exploit increasing exhaustion successful Ukraine by proposing a impermanent oregon partial de-escalation successful the war, Tursa said.
"Such a determination would connection the Trump medication a symbolic diplomatic occurrence portion placing unit connected Kyiv to marque important concessions. Should Ukraine neglect to respond successful a mode deemed acceptable by Moscow, the Kremlin would apt represent Kyiv arsenic the main obstacle to bid and number connected Washington to summation unit connected Zelenskyy."
Tursa said this second script underscores the risks inherent successful immoderate imaginable Trump-Putin statement that's reached without the nonstop engagement of Ukraine and its European allies.
"Despite Ukraine's reliance connected U.S. support, neither Zelensky nor Ukraine's parliament could beryllium expected to endorse an statement perceived arsenic unfavorable and lacking nationalist backing. Zelensky's medication has already publically rejected the thought of territorial concessions floated up of the summit, intelligibly signaling Kyiv's reddish lines."
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