Kyiv open but unhopeful on ceasefire ahead of Trump-Putin talks in Alaska

Ukraine is willing to consider an aerial ceasefire with Russia, Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview ahead of Friday’s talks in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Podolyak said that while Washington was proposing an all-out ceasefire, including an end to missile strikes and drone attacks, “neither of those scenarios was accepted by Russia. Air strikes are key for Moscow as it attempts to exert psychological pressure on Ukraine.”

Russia was “unlikely to want to give up on airstrikes and the mass use of drones”, Podolyak said. However, Ukraine was willing to consider the scenario and “sees it as the first stage in realistic negotiations,” Podolyak said.

Podolyak’s comments follow a report by The Economist on Saturday, in which sources said that Putin had suggested a “limited ceasefire, in the air and sea” during the talks with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff last week. However, the views on what could be deemed a satisfactory outcome of peace negotiations seem as far apart as ever in Kyiv, Moscow and Washington.

On 5 August, Zelensky said that he fully supported Trump’s proposal of an immediate ceasefire. “We have already tried many ways … to bring about a ceasefire and stop the killings. We have offered Russia an aerial ceasefire and an end to missile and drone strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure. All of which was rejected by the Russians,” Zelensky explained.

On Wednesday, European leaders and Zelensky are due to hold a video conference with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, where they are likely to discuss Friday’s meeting in Alaska.