Zelensky scrambles to avert disaster as Trump meets Putin
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his team are doing everything in their power to influence President Trump's thinking before he sits down with Vladimir Putin. His last big chance could come on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Zelensky is staring down a perfect storm: a sudden Russian battlefield breakthrough, mounting discontent at home, and a high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday that could back him into a diplomatic corner.
The big picture: Trump is expected to hold a virtual meeting Wednesday with Zelensky and a group of European leaders, two sources with knowledge of the plans tell Axios.
- Zelensky has been downplaying Russia's recent gains and working the phones to leaders in Europe and beyond to hedge against an unfavorable outcome in Alaska.
Behind the scenes: After a series of largely fruitless phone calls over the last six months, Trump has been itching to meet Putin face to face to gauge his willingness to make peace, U.S. officials say.
- "The President feels like, look, I've got to look at this guy across the table. ... I want to look this guy in the eye. I think we're going to know very early in that meeting whether this thing has any chance of success or not," Secretary of State Marco Rubio told radio host Sid Rosenberg on Tuesday.
- Zelensky and other European leaders are concerned that when Trump looks Putin in the eye, he will actually agree with his hardline demands.
- "As of now, nobody knows what Trump wants to get from Putin on Friday. We don't know how much influence we can have on Trump, but we have to keep trying," a Ukrainian official told Axios.
Zoom in: Recent days have been whiplash-inducing for Ukrainian officials.
- Trump was set to announce harsh sanctions on Russia last Friday, but instead announced he'd be welcoming Putin onto U.S. soil.
- Meanwhile, Russian forces have made one of their most rapid gains in more than a year in the past 48 hours. Zelensky claimed Tuesday that the advance was narrow and tactical, intended to shape perceptions ahead of the Trump-Putin summit. "The military is going to correct it," he said.
- Polls show that Ukraine's population, which once overwhelmingly wanted to fight on until victory, now wants peace. Gallup found 69% want a deal "as soon as possible," while KIIS in Kyiv found growing — though not majority — openness to terms previously floated by the Trump administration.
- While Trump hasn't cut off weapons for Ukraine, he's now offering them for sale to NATO countries rather than sending them directly, muddying the outlook for future shipments.
The other side: U.S. officials argue that if Trump's rhetoric sounds pro-Russian at times, it's because he believes that kind of public messaging will help him get a deal.
- One told Axios that Trump is still "pissed off" at Putin. "The general view for months is that we can bring down the Russian economy tomorrow. There are more ways to ruin Ukraine. But if he had to choose a side, he would start to bring down the Russian economy. He's really had enough."
- The U.S. official said that even if the diplomatic efforts fail, Trump will continue selling weapons to NATO countries for Ukraine.
- "Maybe Trump can't get this done but he's going to do his level-best," the official said.
The latest: Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday to prepare for the summit, the State Department said. "Both sides confirmed their commitment to ensure a successful event."
