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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Phoebe Weston

Monday briefing: What’s at stake for Ukrainians as Trump and Putin talk of ceding land in return for peace

The shadows of U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are cast during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have been negotiating a peace deal for Ukraine without Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Good morning. On Friday, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Alaska to discuss the future of Ukraine, but there was no deal reached and no big questions answered. Trump appeared deferential to the Russian leader and now backs plans to hand over Ukrainian territory as part of a peace deal. Today he will meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.

In discussions about what a peace settlement would look like, “land swaps” were represented as simple transactions. The fate of people appeared to be a casual afterthought. Trump and Putin are eager to embrace the idea that territory can be bought and sold like real estate, but Guardian reporting exposes the devastating part of this war: human loss.

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