Zelenskyy in London as Ukraine braces for Trump-Putin meet

London, England/Kyiv, Russia - With just one day to go until a US-Russian summit on ending the war in Ukraine, its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited London on Thursday, Aug. 14, to shore up European support for efforts to prevent any agreement that would carve up Ukrainian land.

Friday's Alaska summit comes at one of the toughest moments for Ukraine in a war, the largest in Europe since World War Two, that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

On the backfoot on the battlefield against Russian forces, Zelenskiy and his allies are keen to avoid any deal between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that leaves Ukraine more vulnerable to Russian attacks.

Zelenskyy met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to build on momentum from virtual talks on Wednesday with European leaders and Trump to try to set red lines for the talks between Trump and Putin in Anchorage, Alaska. Zelenskyy and Starmer embraced before heading in to their meeting in Downing Street.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened "severe consequences" if Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine and while he did not specify what the consequences could be, he has warned of economic sanctions if his meeting on Friday proves fruitless.

"Yesterday was a pivotal moment for reinforcing European and transatlantic unity," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X. "We need peace through strength as a foundation for the future of global security and stability."

Zelenskyy said he warned Trump that Putin was "bluffing" about his desire to end the war.

The Ukrainian leader also said Trump had supported the idea of security guarantees in a post-war settlement. Politico cited people familiar with the situation as saying that Trump had said the US could provide guarantees with some conditions.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters security guarantees were discussed on the call.

"We have no details of his (Trump's) view on this but now he is more open for some kind of US support for the guarantees," the source said, adding that Trump understood that a US backstop was needed for guarantees to be workable.

"So he mentioned it (on the call) and maybe everyone will work on it," the source said.

Russian military advances

Zelenskyy confirmed this week that Russian forces had advanced by about 9 to 10 kilometers near the town of Dobropillia in the Donetsk region. Ukraine, suffering manpower challenges, was forced to move in reserves to stabilise the situation.

Trump's comments and the outcome of the virtual conference on Wednesday could provide encouragement for Kyiv.

Trump described the aim of his talks with Putin in Alaska as "setting the table" for a quick follow-up that would include Zelenskyy.

However, Russia is likely to resist Ukraine and Europe's demands strongly and previously has said its stance had not changed since it was first detailed by Putin in June 2024.

Trump has said a deal could include what he called a land swap. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine and a land swap within Ukraine could cement Moscow's gains.

Zelenskyy and the Europeans worry that would reward Putin for nearly 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian land and embolden him to expand further west in Europe.

A source familiar with the matter said Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev will participate in Friday's summit.

Dmitriev, who heads up Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, has previously held talks with Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, and has spoken of possible business cooperation between Moscow and Washington.

Trump's agreement last week to the summit was an abrupt shift after weeks of voicing frustration with Putin for resisting the US peace initiative.

A Gallup poll released last week found that 69 percent of Ukrainians favor a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means significant concessions.

As conditions for a ceasefire and the start of talks, Putin has demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce plans to join NATO.

Kyiv swiftly rejected the conditions as tantamount to surrender.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony, Olena Harmash, Andrew Osborn; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)