The world is watching the upcoming summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska, a meeting considered crucial for the Ukraine-Russia war. Neither Putin nor Trump has revealed details about the meeting’s agenda. However, the signals from Trump are not sitting well with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Zelensky has made it clear that he is not willing to concede any territory, especially concerning the potential land swap discussions.
Former US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on August 15. This meeting is particularly significant because, just a week before, Trump was issuing an ultimatum to Putin. Putin was threatened with further economic sanctions if peace was not achieved in the Ukraine war. However, Trump’s special envoy, Witkoff, arrived in Russia at the last minute, altering the situation. Notably, Zelensky has been excluded from this meeting. The discussions regarding Ukraine in his absence are raising eyebrows. Questions are being raised about whether a peace agreement on Ukraine can be reached without Zelensky.
With the stances of Trump and Putin in mind, everything seems uncertain. The situation continues to escalate in Ukraine and Russia. However, former British Army officer and military analyst, Damien D. Breton Gordon, believes that the summit itself is a major victory. He stated that Putin’s actions do not suggest he favors peace. The war is being waged to bring Ukraine under control. Trump realizes that the war will not end this way; therefore, he believes Putin is playing games. In the Trump-Putin talks, victory will go to whoever has the upper hand. Zelensky will also play a significant role.
**Donald Trump:** As the United States is a powerful nation, so is Russia. Trump now wants to show his strength. Trump’s greatest strengths at this time are economic sanctions and tariffs. He wants to use them to persuade Putin. He is also ready to accept many of Putin’s conditions to bring peace to the war, although Putin’s stubbornness is his biggest weakness. He saw this recently when he gave Putin an ultimatum, and in response, Putin launched even more intense attacks on Ukraine.
**Vladimir Putin:** Russia did not back down from US threats. Putin’s biggest strength is his strategy and weapons, with which he is directly fighting Ukraine and indirectly fighting the whole of Europe and America. Despite fighting for three years, Putin does not shy away from warning Europe and NATO from time to time. His primary weakness, however, is economic sanctions, which are Trump’s greatest strength. Putin knows that Russia’s economy will weaken without the money and resources from oil. In this scenario, Putin is also keeping a soft corner for peace.
**Volodymyr Zelensky:** Ukrainian President Zelensky could act as a wild card in this meeting. It is not yet clear whether Trump has consulted Zelensky about this meeting on Ukraine. There have also been some leaked reports saying that Trump has made several promises to Putin in exchange for peace. These include a land swap, which Zelensky objects to. After this news was leaked, Zelensky openly stated that he would not give an inch of land to Ukraine’s enemy. He keeps citing the people of Ukraine, which is actually his strength. Furthermore, the help of NATO and European countries is also bolstering Zelensky. However, Trump’s high-handedness is his weakness. If an agreement is reached between the two heads of state during the summit, Trump could pressure Zelensky to agree to it. If this happens, Zelensky might have to accept Trump’s demands.