Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin is not preparing for a ceasefire but is readying his troops for “new offensive operations” in Ukraine, even as the Russian leader is set to meet US President Donald Trump for peace talks in Alaska.
Zelenskyy said reports from Ukrainian intelligence and military commanders indicate that Putin intends to present his meeting on Friday with Trump as “a personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before” in the war on Ukraine.
“He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war,” Zelenskyy said in a video message posted to his social media account on Monday night.
“There is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation,” he said.
“On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does,” he added.
Today, there was a report from the intelligence and military command on what Putin is counting on and what he is actually preparing for, including military preparations. He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a… pic.twitter.com/T3sqQg0ltT
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 11, 2025
Ukraine’s military spokesperson for the southern front-line sector, Vladyslav Voloshyn, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that Russia was moving some military units in the Zaporizhia region for further assaults.
Earlier on Monday, Zelenskyy warned that any concessions to Russia would not persuade it to stop fighting in Ukraine.
“Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore, must not receive any rewards or benefits,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“Concessions do not persuade a killer,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader’s warnings come in advance of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, and after the US president said that Kyiv would have to cede land to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, a proposition that Ukraine has firmly rejected.
“There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody; to the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both,” Trump told a news conference in Washington, DC, on Monday.
Trump also said he would know “probably in the first two minutes” of meeting with Putin, whether progress was possible.
“I’m going to be telling him, ‘You’ve got to end this war,'” Trump said, adding that a future meeting with Putin could include Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s and Europe’s ‘vital security interests’
In a statement on Tuesday, 26 European heads of state and government stressed “the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny”.
“A just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force,” said the statement endorsed by leaders of all EU member countries except Hungary.
“Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,” it said, adding that “a diplomatic solution must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests”.
On Monday, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also said a peace deal for Ukraine must involve Kyiv and not be imposed upon it.
“Both leaders underscored that Ukraine’s future must be one of freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination,” a spokesperson for Starmer said.
Zelenskyy also said he had spoken to Canada’s Carney and told him that the “Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war”.
“The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.
US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which monitors the conflict in Ukraine on a daily basis, said in a recent report that Moscow does not appear to be preparing the Russian public for accepting “a settlement short of a full victory in Ukraine”.
That assessment, the ISW said, was based on “the lack of change in public Kremlin messaging, in combination with ongoing speculation that Putin is looking to ‘outplay’ the West”.
European leaders and Zelenskyy plan to speak with Trump in advance of his meeting with Putin as fears mount that Washington may dictate unfavourable peace terms to Ukraine after the Alaska summit.
