Star Metro - Zelensky, European leaders hope to sway Trump before Putin summit

Amid frantic diplomatic activity, Zelensky was to be in Berlin to be with Chancellor Friedrich Merz for the video conference, a German government source told AFP.

Merz has also invited French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders as well as the heads of the EU and NATO to one conference call from 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).

They to hold a second call an hour later with Trump and Vice President JD Vance before Merz and Zelensky give press statements.

The Trump-Putin meeting on Friday in Alaska is so far planned to go ahead without Zelensky. This has fuelled fears Kyiv could be forced into painful concessions, notably over land.

Ahead of the conference call, Zelensky, who spoke with more than 30 international leaders in a few days, said "pressure must be exerted on Russia for the sake of a fair peace".

"We must learn from the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception on the part of Russia. There are currently no signs that the Russians are preparing to end the war," he said in a social media statement.

EU leaders stressed on Tuesday "the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny" and that "international borders must not be changed by force".

- 'Constructive conversations' -

Merz's office said the conference call would discuss "further options to exert pressure on Russia" and "preparation of possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security".

The talks would include leaders from "Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, Ukraine, the heads of the European Commission and Council, the secretary general of NATO, as well as the US president and his deputy", Berlin said.

Macron, Merz and Starmer are then set to lead a round of talks of the so-called Coalition of the Willing of Ukraine's military backers.

Trump on Monday played down the possibility of a breakthrough in Alaska but said he expected "constructive conversations" with Putin.

"This is really a feel-out meeting a little bit," Trump said. But he added that eventually "there'll be some swapping, there'll be some changes in land".

Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the aim was "for the president to walk away with a better understanding of how we can end this war".

"I think this is a listening exercise for the president."

Zelensky meanwhile has called the Alaska encounter a "personal victory" for Putin.

Russia, as a prerequisite to a peace settlement, has demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of several regions claimed by Moscow, commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support and be excluded from joining NATO.

Ukraine has said it would never recognise Russian control over its territory, though it acknowledged that retrieving land captured by Russia would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.

Zelensky on Tuesday ruled out withdrawing troops from the Donbas region which Moscow claims.

- 'Difficult' battles -

Ukraine said it was engaged in "difficult" battles with Russian forces after Moscow made advances in a narrow but important section of the eastern front.

Zelensky said on social media that "we see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations."

Moscow launched fresh drone and missile attacks on Ukraine Wednesday, despite having scaled back the intensity of its aerial assaults since the Alaska summit was announced last week.

The Russian military fired at least 49 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukraine between during the night, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday.

At least three people were killed in Russian artillery and drone attacks on the southern Kherson region, regional officials said.

In the Donetsk region, regional authorities announced they had evacuated 1,200 people including 42 children from front line areas since Tuesday.

burs-fec/fz/tw

M.Johnson--SMC