US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance will participate in a virtual meeting on Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies. This was confirmed to ABC News by two American officials, UNN reports.
Details
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that Russia was showing signs that it might want to end the war, after the Ukrainian President spoke by phone last week with Trump, White House adviser Steve Witkoff, and European leaders.
"During the conversation, Mr. Witkoff, who was also on the call, signaled that Russia was ready to end the war or at least take the first step towards a ceasefire, and that this was the first such signal from them," Zelenskyy said of the conversation that took place on Friday. "Everyone on the call felt positive about it – that there had been some shift."
Zelenskyy emphasized that there were no demands or specific proposals from the US, only discussions, and it was still unclear to him exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Witkoff.
The White House officially announced that a summit between Trump and Putin would take place in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
Zelenskyy said that Putin was preparing for "new offensive operations" despite the upcoming peace summit in Alaska on Friday, and as Russian forces appeared to have made significant gains on the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
Fierce fighting continues on the front lines and long-range drone and missile strikes are ongoing, as the US and Russia prepare for their meeting on Friday. Ukrainian representatives are not expected to be present, although a source in Zelenskyy's office told ABC News on Monday that "everything is very fluid."
Zelenskyy and his officials have launched a diplomatic offensive ahead of the meeting, seeking to secure foreign support for Ukraine's key demands in any peace agreement.
Recall
Donald Trump announced a meeting with Putin on August 15, 2025, in Alaska. The Kremlin confirmed the date and location, noting that they would discuss issues of settlement regarding Russia's war against Ukraine and economic interests.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after the announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska, stated Ukraine's readiness for real solutions for peace, but emphasized that Ukrainians would not give their land to the occupier. He stressed that the answer to the territorial question is already in the Constitution of Ukraine.