Here are the key events on day 1,270 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.Here is how things stand on Sunday, August 17:Politics and diplomacy
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to freeze the front lines in Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhia regions if Kyiv ceded full control of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, during his meeting with United States President Donald Trump on Friday, according to several media outlets, including The New York Times and the AFP and Reuters news agencies.
Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the offer during a phone call, but Zelenskyy rejected the demand, Reuters reported
Trump described the meeting with Putin as “a great and very successful day in Alaska!” and told Fox News that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not”.
The US president also said he agreed with Putin that a peace agreement should be sought without a prior ceasefire, marking a change in his position before the summit.
“The best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement… and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the summit in Alaska, said in a post on X that Russia’s unwillingness to pause the fighting would complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace.
Nevertheless, he said he will meet with Trump in Washington, DC, on Monday. “I am grateful for the invitation,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
A number of European leaders have also been invited to attend, a European Union source told the AFP news agency.
European leaders, including from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, promised to maintain the pressure on Russia thr …
