Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska played into Moscow’s hands and lamented that Ukraine was not included in the talks.
In an interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Zelenskyy said, “It's a pity that Ukraine was not there, because I think President Trump gave Putin what he wanted.” The Alaska meeting, held Aug. 15 in Anchorage, marked the first invitation of a Russian president to the United States outside the United Nations since 2007 and prompted hopes for progress toward a ceasefire and security arrangements for Ukraine.
Trump, who has repeatedly said he would not negotiate Ukraine’s borders without Kyiv’s consent, said after the talks that the two leaders had made “some headway” but had not reached a deal. “There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones, that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we made some headway. So, there’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said at a joint appearance with Putin.
Putin, speaking at the same news conference, endorsed the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine and described the talks as “constructive.” “I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we're prepared to work on that,” Putin said.
Despite the public statements, no ceasefire or comprehensive agreement was announced after the meeting, and Zelenskyy reiterated his refusal to meet Putin in Moscow while the conflict continues. “Putin doesn't want to meet with me, but he wants very much to meet with the President of the United States to show everybody video and images that he is there,” Zelenskyy told Raddatz. He said that if Putin sought a meeting while the war was ongoing, it should take place in Kyiv.
The relationship between Zelenskyy and Trump has been uneven since Trump returned to the White House. The two clashed in a televised Oval Office exchange in February, a confrontation Zelenskyy described as tense. They appeared to get along better in a meeting on Aug. 18 after the Alaska summit, though differences over terms and timing for any negotiated settlement remain.
U.S. officials heading into the Alaska talks had signaled support for security guarantees for Ukraine while reiterating that any changes to internationally recognized borders would require Kyiv’s consent. European leaders and Ukrainian officials had expressed cautious optimism that the meeting could produce language or mechanisms to reduce hostilities, but negotiators emphasized the gap between public statements and enforceable agreements.
Fighting on the ground continued as diplomatic activity increased. Ukrainian and Western officials have repeatedly warned that pauses in violence require durable monitoring and verification arrangements, and critics of the summit said that holding bilateral talks without Ukrainian participation risked sidelining the country whose territorial integrity is at issue.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zelenskyy’s remarks follow months of direct and indirect engagement between Washington and Moscow, with U.S. leaders balancing pressure on Russia with efforts to explore paths that might reduce the scale of fighting.
Observers said any durable settlement would require coordination among Kyiv, Washington and European partners, with Ukrainian consent central to any territorial or security arrangements. For now, public optimism generated by the Alaska meeting has been tempered by the absence of a concrete agreement and by ongoing hostilities on the battlefield.
