US President Donald Trump described his Alaska trip as a “great and very successful day” after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 and holding calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
However, responses in Ukraine were mixed, with some criticizing the red-carpet treatment for Putin, while others expressed cautious hope despite the summit’s failure to produce a cease-fire.
“I am seriously indignant,” a Kyiv resident told Current Time. “The way Putin was received, I think, is unacceptable.”
In Kramatorsk, a city in the Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine that has been regularly shelled by Russia since the start of the invasion in February 2022, a resident said he “didn’t expect” the summit to have any solid outcomes.
“But since they praised each other, I hope that something will come of this in the future,” he said.
Zelenskyy will travel to Washington on August 18 to meet Trump to “discuss all details regarding ending the killings, ending the war,” he said in a statement after a lengthy phone call with the US president on August 16.
He also backed Trump’s idea of a three-way summit between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia to address major issues directly among their leaders.
Zelenskyy later called for more sanctions against Russia if no tripartite meeting takes place or “if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war.”
Commenting on his call with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Cease-fire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.”
He added that if “all works out” after he meets with Zelenskyy, “we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin.”
