Ukrainians fear Trump will shift responsibility for ending war onto Kyiv after failed talks with Putin

In Ukraine, the morning of Aug. 16 began in suspense. Soon after waking, many rushed to anxiously check the outcome of the Alaska summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, which had unfolded overnight in Ukrainian time, as the two leaders discussed a path toward ending Moscow’s war.

Although no breakthrough agreement was reached and details were scarce immediately after the summit, more information emerged during the day as Trump briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies about his meeting with Putin and extended an invitation to the Ukrainian leader to visit Washington next week.

Trump said he would not impose any new sanctions on Russia, despite its apparent rejection of a ceasefire that the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe had sought. He also said that the goal of future negotiations would be a full-fledged peace agreement rather than a mere ceasefire, aligning his position with Moscow’s demands.

For many Ukrainians, Trump showed weakness during the Alaska summit, handing Putin a win on the international stage, but failing to bring Russia’s war any closer to an end.

“Trump demonstrated weakness by officially allowing the war criminal Putin to walk the red carpet and ride in the presidential car. These are symbols that are important to Russia,” lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn told the Kyiv Independent.

“No changes actually occurred  — neither positive nor negative — except for Putin's symbolic return to the circle of handshakes at the highest level.”

The summit was supposed to be Trump’s attempt to convince Putin to come to the negotiation table, but instead the two leaders left without any agreement to end the war. Nonetheless, Trump praised the meeting as a 10 out of 10, and said he and Putin made some headway towards a deal, including on territorial swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent has gathered reactions from Ukrainian lawmakers, experts, and soldiers about the results of the Putin-Trump summit and their expectations for future peace negotiations.

Oleksandr Merezhko,
lawmaker

I don't think the situation has changed dramatically. Putin has two wins. First of all, Trump helped him to break the political isolation in which he had been before. The second win for Putin is that he managed to avoid sanctions, which Trump had promised.

Trump promised very clearly that he would present Putin with, you can call it an ultimatum, to agree to an unconditional ceasefire. If he doesn't agree, there will be tariffs and sanctions, tariffs against Russia, sanctions against China. Trump, again, didn't deliver on his promise, and now he's not even talking about sanctions. It's a second win for Putin. He managed to avoid this.

But what is much worse is today's post by Trump in which he says that instead of a ceasefire agreement, there should be a peace agreement. It means that Trump has aligned with Putin because it's Putin’s requirement.

The situation looks bad because of that. I understand that Trump and Putin will be together, forcing Zelensky and Ukraine to accept this peace agreement, which is totally unacceptable for us. But if we disagree, then we will lose support.

If we don't agree to this idea, Trump will use it as a pretext to blame us and to walk away and restart relations with Russia.

Bohdan Krotevych,
former chief of staff of Azov Brigade

I think that Trump is not really happy with the meeting with Putin, but his main goal is to stop this war at any cost in order to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Therefore, most likely, he will shift the responsibility for ending the war onto Zelensky.

The President of Ukraine will face a hard time in Washington, but I hope he prepares well for the conversation. You can deal with Trump if you understand his psychological profile. Putin understands this and uses it.

Yaroslav Hrytsak
historian

I do not expect much (from the Washington meeting) — like most Ukrainians. Judging by the information about yesterday’s meeting, Putin does not appear to be abandoning his plans toward Ukraine and is not ready for any compromise.

The position of Russia, on one side, and the position of Ukraine and its Western allies, on the other, are so distinctively different that I do not see how Trump could bridge them: he has neither ideas nor leverage.

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn,
lawmaker

In short, the result of the meeting, to quote Trump, was "Big and beautiful… Nothing." Overall, Trump showed weakness by officially allowing the war criminal Putin to walk the red carpet and ride in the presidential car. These symbols are important to Russia.

In practical terms, no changes actually occurred, except that Trump confirmed the U.S.'s readiness to participate in security guarantees. However, he would have achieved this result more quickly by using secondary sanctions, as he had promised should (Russia reject) a ceasefire. Putin did not stop attacks, yet he was given additional time.

Therefore, no changes actually occurred  — neither positive nor negative — except for Putin's symbolic return to the circle of handshakes at the highest level.

Olena Halushka
co-founder of International Center for Ukrainian Victory

I can't see how this summit can bring peace in Ukraine and Europe any closer.

Russians don't have any goodwill for talks; they can only be forced into peace by real strength like maximum modern weapons for Ukraine with no deep-strike limits, sanctions to crush the Russian war machine, confiscation of $300 billion of the Russian Central Bank assets immobilized in the West, and breaking the vicious circle of impunity by holding Russians to account for their atrocities. None of that is being discussed anymore.

On the contrary, the debate again turned into what else Ukraine can give up to appease Russia. Trump's threat to impose hellish sanctions on Russia turned into a red carpet welcome without Russians changing their illegal demands for a single inch.

Russians feel even more emboldened and encouraged after this summit. They can't beat Ukraine militarily, so they will try to do it politically now.

As for my expectations regarding the European leaders: will they finally realize that helping Ukraine defeat Russia will eventually save countless lives of their citizens?

Editorial: That meeting was sickening. Putin loved it

Sickening. Shameful. And in the end, useless. Those were the words that came to mind when we watched the Alaska Summit unfold. On our screens, a blood-soaked dictator and war criminal received a royal welcome in the land of the free — as his attack drones headed for our cities. In the lead-up to the meeting in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump declared he wanted a “ceasefire today” and that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would face “severe consequences” if he didn’t go for it. Yet

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent

Artem Chekh
writer and soldier

The most dangerous and the most unpredictable (leaders) have decided to play at friendship, behind which I have no idea what’s really hidden.

I don’t make any predictions, guesses, or conspiracy theories. This war has taught me that if you can’t influence something, respond to what you can influence.

I haven’t reacted to any statements from either Putin or Trump for a long time. Nothing is changing for us. If things change, we’ll respond based on the new circumstances. For now, the enemy is on our land, and all that’s left is to fight.

Jaroslava Barbieri,
research fellow at Chatham House

For many, the summit was a big disappointment and disgrace at once. Trump’s statement “there's no deal until there's a deal” underscored the lack of a formal breakthrough. The risk now is that for Trump the onus to “get it done” might be on President Zelensky and European nations, seemingly shifting responsibility away from Moscow – the aggressor – to Ukraine – the victim.

Trump’s suggestion on Truth Social that a “peace agreement” should precede a ceasefire supports Moscow’s position and contradicts the red lines set by Kyiv and European leaders ahead of the Alaska summit, i.e. that a ceasefire should be the starting point for any meaningful peace negotiations.

The summit was a diplomatic masterstroke for Putin, giving him the chance to return to the international stage and buy time for his military campaign. The optics of the meeting — the red carpet, the ride in the presidential limousine, the friendly demeanour of the two leaders — will be used by domestic propaganda to portray Putin as a respected leader of a global superpower on a par with the U.S.

While the worst case scenario of a “dirty deal” seems to have been averted for now, the optics and ambiguous outcome of the summit have raised profound questions about the future of the transatlantic alliance and the long-term prospects for peace in Ukraine.

Mykola Kniazhytskyi
lawmaker

Each side — Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin — held firm to their own views. Putin is convinced that he just needs to wait a bit longer and Ukraine will collapse on its own. Trump believes that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, at least because of Russia's nuclear weapons, so there is no point for Americans to keep paying for it.

At the moment, there is no public position from President Trump regarding a change in the U.S. role in supporting Ukraine, which, under the current circumstances, can be seen as a positive.

There is still little information about Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington. It should be remembered that the issue of transferring Ukrainian territories under Russian control is not something anyone in Ukraine can legally discuss. The Constitution prohibits the president from making decisions on such matters.

If we assume an incredible scenario in which Zelensky signs something of the sort, it would result in criminal charges against him, and any such agreements would be annulled.

In general, we can treat the demand for Ukraine to give up its territories as an indicator of how serious the intentions are: it is raised only so that Ukraine rejects it. If such a topic comes up in negotiations, it will be solely to derail them.

I hope this nuance will be taken into account during the meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine and the United States on Monday, and that time will be spent on matters that can actually be resolved.

Kate Tsurkan, Kateryna Denisova, and Toma Istomina contributed reporting.