Putin to present Trump with 'historical materials' framing Ukraine as artificial state, Kyiv claims
Russian President Vladimir Putin will present U.S. President Donald Trump with "historical materials" to frame Ukraine as an artificial state during their summit in Alaska, Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation claimed on Aug. 14.
According to the center, the package includes geographical maps intended to justify Russia's territorial claims and ongoing military aggression in Ukraine.
The claim comes a day before the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump since the start of Trump's second term, talks the White House has described as part of Washington's push to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation warned that the Kremlin routinely leans on distorted historical narratives to rationalize its actions, portraying Ukraine as historically dependent on Russia and framing its sovereignty as illegitimate.
Putin has repeatedly used such pseudohistorical arguments in public appearances. In a 2024 interview with far-right U.S. commentator Tucker Carlson, he delivered a 30-minute monologue on Russia and Ukraine's history filled with inaccuracies and distortions.
"No historical facts, let alone pseudohistorical fantasies, can be the basis for territorial claims and do not justify armed aggression against other countries," the Center for Countering Disinformation said.
Trump has called the Alaska talks a "feel-out" meeting and pledged during an Aug. 13 call with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders to make a ceasefire one of his priorities in discussions with Putin.
The U.S. president has also suggested that any peace deal would require both sides to "swap" land, a stance that has raised alarm in Kyiv and across European capitals. What is meant by "land swaps" was not specified.
Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, followed by parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts in 2022 after holding sham referenda.
A Ukrainian Presidential Office source earlier told the Kyiv Independent that Moscow's proposal would require Kyiv to withdraw from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the partially occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in exchange for a Russian pullback from parts of Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.
Putin has also demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the partially occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and accept a ban on NATO membership as preconditions for peace.
These demands, reiterated during Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul, have been firmly rejected by Zelensky, who insists on a ceasefire as the first step toward negotiations, a position backed by Ukraine's European partners.
