With President Donald Trump set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, European officials have intervened with their own peace offers to Ukraine. On Saturday, the Europeans put forward an alternative to the United States, with a focus on a ceasefire prior to any exchange of territories.
Trump, who made the announcement of next week's Alaska summit on Friday, indicated that a deal was near that could include "some trading of territory to the improvement of both," suggesting Ukraine may need to sacrifice significant territory. But Ukraine and most of its European partners are against any such concessions, saying it would only lead to more aggression from Russia.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance had a meeting with Ukrainian and European envoys at Chevening House, a UK country house in the vicinity of London, to talk about the peace talks. A European representative has confirmed a counteroffer had been made but will not release further information. The Wall Street Journal stated that the European offer calls for a mutual swap of land and stipulates that a ceasefire should be implemented first.
"You can't begin a process by conceding ground in the middle of a battle," one European negotiator said to the Journal.
In spite of negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has categorically dismissed any proposal for territorial loss. In his speech to the country, Zelenskyy reiterated that the "path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine." He added, "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron restated their backing for Zelenskyy, promising to collaborate closely with all sides to achieve a "just and lasting peace." Macron repeated the statement that the future of Ukraine should be decided with full participation of Ukrainians, citing the struggle for liberty and safety the last three years.
We Europeans will also need to be part of the solution because our security is also involved," Macron stated in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), after meeting Zelenskyy and other European leaders.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has been burning for more than three years, ignited by the February 2022 invasion by Russia and previous hostilities over areas like Crimea and portions of eastern Ukraine. Moscow contends a number of Ukrainian territories but does not entirely control all contested regions. Ukraine, meanwhile, holds small enclaves within Russia's Kursk region, though Moscow indicates that it drove Ukrainian troops out there months prior.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center senior fellow, called the ongoing peace initiative "the first more or less realistic attempt to stop the war." She is, however, very skeptical about the possibility of long-term agreements, cautioning that fresh commitments would be ruinous for Ukraine.
On the battlefield, battle rages on intensely along the long front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russian troops have inched forward gradually but have not yet gained a decisive break-through. Ukrainian military experts declare the summer offensive crumbling, but Ukrainian morale is high.
"No serviceman will ever surrender land or withdraw soldiers from Ukrainian soil," maintained Olesia Petritska, a resident of Kyiv, gesturing toward hundreds of little flags commemorating dead soldiers in the city center.
Trump and Putin will be meeting as the next few days will prove pivotal in determining whether diplomacy can gain traction or whether hostilities will continue, with the lives of millions at stake.
