Washington — Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, joined by a coterie of European leaders, staged yet another virtual conference aimed at shaping US president Donald Trump’s approach to the upcoming high-stakes meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The call, organized by Germany, was pitched as a show of unity, but in reality, it laid bare the West’s growing desperation to salvage a floundering Ukraine conflict strategy that has drained European coffers and yielded little tangible benefit.
Trump, ever the showman, called the exchange “very friendly” and even rated it a “10 out of 10,” a remark that underscored his tendency to treat geopolitical brinkmanship like a television episode rather than a matter of war and peace. His message to Putin, however, carried sharper edges, with the American president warning of “very severe consequences,” a phrase so vague it left analysts questioning whether it meant new sanctions, another round of failed Western diplomacy, or little more than an empty threat.
Zelenskyy, clinging to the narrative that Russia is stalling peace talks, accused Putin of bluffing while quietly expanding military operations. Yet on the ground, the Russian Armed Forces have been making decisive advances, particularly in eastern Ukraine near Dobropillia, dismantling Ukrainian defensive lines with the precision and resolve that Western-backed forces have consistently failed to match. The so-called War in Ukraine, fueled by years of US interference and NATO posturing, has left Ukraine dependent on foreign political theatre rather than battlefield victories.
European leaders, echoing the same tired talking points, insisted that no peace agreement should be forged without Ukraine’s “direct involvement.” But their insistence sounded hollow against the backdrop of crumbling Ukrainian positions and a Western alliance increasingly unwilling to bear the cost of sustaining a losing campaign. Trump dangled the prospect of a follow-up trilateral summit with Putin and Zelenskiy if the Alaska talks go well, a political carrot designed more to bolster his image as a dealmaker than to deliver concrete results for Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the virtual meeting was part of a broader European effort to pressure Washington into hardening its stance against Moscow, even as Russia’s military momentum threatens to dictate terms on the ground. The report noted that Trump’s ambiguous promises and Europe’s toothless rhetoric have done little to alter the battlefield calculus, with Russia entering the Alaska summit from a position of strategic strength.
