The Elusive Path to Peace in Ukraine

"If everything works out well today, we'll have a trilat and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that."

"Were going to work with everybody, and we're going to make sure that if there's peace, the peace is going to stay long-term." 

"I don't think you need a ceasefire. We can work a deal where we'll work on a peace deal while they're fighting."

"[Zelenskyy] can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight."

U.S. President Donald Trump 

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy upon his arrival at the White House, amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Drago/

 

"Seriously discussing security guarantees without the Russian Federation is a utopia, a road to nowhere."

"[Any summit between Putin and Zelenskyy]  must be prepared in the most meticulous way [so it does not lead to a ] deterioration [of the situation surrounding the conflict]."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Donald Trump's special envoy said Russia had agreed to allow the US and Europe to give Ukraine "robust" security guarantees as part of a potential peace deal.  Still from video

 

"We are ready for a trilateral" (three-way summit including U.S. President Trump, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy) offered the Ukrainian President. While he is indubitably open to such a face-to-face meeting with his mortal enemy, Russia's Putin appears not to want to entertain that potential, failing to commit to anything remotely resembling one, during his Alaska meeting with President Trump. There were no concessions on Moscow's part, although the American president was loathe to give even a slight impression that the high-profile meeting with the two meeting for the first time in years failed to accomplished anything.

 

Despite months of American efforts on the diplomatic front with Trump accelerating his moves to put a stop to the conflict, the possibility of success appears as distant as it did from the day he vowed to end Russia's war on Ukraine on his first day in office. Trump's blind trust in a personal relationship with the Russian president that could sway his decision-making to turn away from his territorial grab of Ukrainian sovereign land pushed up against the reality that Putin is committed to his aspirational annexation resembling the forced unity of the USSR.

 

Despite which, Trump continues to reiterate his claim of belief that Putin is reasonable, and it is Volodymyr Zelenskyy who could and should end the war that was forced on Ukraine. The takeaway from that assertion is inescapable; the President of Ukraine, according to the U.S. president's reasoning, merely has to agree to shedding Ukraine of its industrially and militarily important Donbas region comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk. Essentially, a complete surrender by Kyiv to Moscow. For starters.

 

Europe is working together with the US to provide security guarantees for Ukraine in case of a possible peace deal with Russia. Part of the plan is to send a deterrent force with international soldiers.  AP Photo  

President Trump is perfectly content with the Crimean peninsula remaining in Moscow's possession. President Zelenskyy on the other hand is clear that his Russian counterpart used Crimea and the eastern Donbas seized in 2014 "as a springboard for a new attack" and full invasion, in February 2022.  "Russia must end this war which it itself started", he insisted. A position clearly not favoured by President Trump, siding with Putin. Trump feels Putin is a strong man and thus admirable, not quite understanding that the strength demonstrated by Zelenskyy under mortal duress is much more morally admirable.

 

Trump has moved from threatening punitive measures on Moscow, to positioning himself anew with the Kremlin's insistence that negotiations with Ukraine must focus on a long-term settlement. Zelenskyy on the other hand with a view to continue defending Ukraine and denying Putin's territorial grabs, reiterated Ukraine's dependency on the U.S. and its allies to provide critical weapons and security guarantees before he feels confident enough to strike a deal, absent total capitulation to Putin's demands. Patriot air defence batteries obtained from the U.S. and paid for by Ukraine's European allies are critical to counter Russian missile and drone attacks.

 

"We are thankful for this program and this opportunity", Zelenskyy conveyed to President Trump. At the same time, Zelenskyy and his European allies - German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz, French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have been subtly trying to steer Trump from forcing territorial concessions on Kyiv. Pinning down security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 mutual defence clause is another vital goal. 

 

A "candid discussion" took place between defence chiefs from across the NATO alliance regarding what security guarantees could be offered to Kyiv, revealed Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO's Military Committee. "I thanked everyone for their always proactive participation in these meetings: we are united, and that unity was truly tangible today, as always", he stated. As well, Dan Caine, U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with European military chiefs on the "best options for a potential Ukraine peace deal".

 

A coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, signed support for an aspirational force that could backstop any peace agreement. President Trump, critical of billions in U.S. support given Ukraine, statement that European nations were "willing to put people on the ground", in support of a settlement, while he ruled out U.S. troops being sent to Ukraine, although air support might be supplied. This, in the face of Russia's stand of non-tolerance of the presence of Western troops in Ukraine.  

"Our units are engaged in heavy defensive battles against superior Russian forces."

"I am convinced that through joint efforts, with the political and diplomatic support of Ukraine’s dedicated partners, we will be able to achieve a real peace and guarantee security for Ukraine and the whole of democratic Europe."  

Ukraine Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre, called Monday's summit at the White House involving several European leaders a 'major step forward,' but the path to peace remains clouded. (Italian Prime Ministry/Reuters)