Zelensky: Putin Scores “Personal Victory” with Upcoming Trump Summit

By Staff, Agencies

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has described the planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump as a “personal victory” for the Kremlin leader.

The summit, set to take place in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, will be the first face-to-face talks between the two leaders. Zelensky argued that the meeting signals the end of Russia’s “international isolation” over the Ukraine war.

“Putin will meet Trump on US soil, and I consider this his personal victory,” he told reporters, adding that Moscow had also managed to secure a delay in US sanctions, referencing a ten-day ultimatum issued by Trump in late July.

The White House confirmed Anchorage as the host city, though the exact venue remains undisclosed, with media reports pointing to the Elmendorf-Richardson military base. Officials in both Washington and Moscow have cautioned against high expectations, portraying the meeting as the opening step in a series of engagements rather than a platform for immediate breakthroughs.

Talks are expected to cover the Ukraine conflict along with a range of bilateral issues. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov expressed hope that the meeting could “give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations” and enable progress on several fronts.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized the limited scope of the talks, calling them “a listening exercise” for President Trump. “Only one party involved in this war will be present,” she said. “This is for the president to gain a firmer understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end”.