Star Metro - Trump eyes three-way meeting with Putin, Zelensky

Trump spoke after what he described as a "very good" call with European leaders, including Zelensky -- even as Russian forces made their biggest advance into his country in more than a year.

"If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one," Trump told reporters as he was questioned about the face-to-face in Anchorage with his Russian counterpart, set for Friday.

"I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there."

The high-stakes summit comes with Trump struggling to broker an end to the conflict, and Zelensky and his European allies earlier urged the Republican to push for a ceasefire.

The stepped-up Russian offensive, and the fact Zelensky has not been invited to Anchorage, have heightened fears that Trump and Putin could strike a deal that forces painful concessions from Ukraine.

The US leader promised dozens of times during his 2024 election campaign to end the conflict on his first day in office but has made scant progress towards securing a peace deal.

He threatened "secondary sanctions" on Russia's trading partners over its invasion of Ukraine but his deadline for action came and went last week with no measures announced.

According to an AFP analysis of battlefield data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces made their biggest 24-hour advance into Ukraine in more than a year on Tuesday.

As the war rages on in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky flew to Berlin and joined Chancellor Friedrich Merz on an online call with other European leaders, and the NATO and EU chiefs, in which they talked to Trump and urged a united stance against Russia.

- 'Severe consequences' -

The consensus was for Trump to secure a ceasefire, and Trump said Russia would face "severe consequences" if it didn't halt its offensive.

But Zelensky also voiced doubt about Moscow's intentions and said: "I have told my colleagues -- the US president and our European friends -- that Putin definitely does not want peace."

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".

Merz said Ukraine is ready to negotiate "on territorial issues" but stressed that legal recognition of Russian occupations "would not be up for debate".

After the call, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe, the United States and NATO had "strengthened the common ground for Ukraine" while NATO head Mark Rutte declared: "The ball is now in Putin's court."

The Russian foreign ministry had earlier branded the frantic round of diplomacy "politically and practically insignificant" and an attempt at "sabotaging" US and Russian efforts to end the conflict.

- 'Wool over our eyes' -

Despite the upbeat comments by European leaders, Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine was gaining speed and seizing ground Wednesday.

With the world's eyes on the looming Alaska summit, Russia has made rapid advances this week in a narrow but important section of the front line in Ukraine.

The AFP data analysis showed that the Russian army took or claimed 110 square kilometers (42.5 square miles) on August 12 compared to the previous day. It was the most since late May 2024.

In recent months, Moscow has typically taken five or six days to progress at such a pace, although Russian advances have accelerated in recent weeks.

The head of the Donetsk region on Wednesday ordered civilians with children to evacuate from towns and villages under threat.

Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk, an eastern city about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front, said they had low expectations for Trump's meeting with Putin.

Artem, a 30-year-old serviceman, said the war would likely continue for "a long time."

"Putin is massing an army, his army is growing, he is stockpiling weapons, he is pulling the wool over our eyes."

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G.Boudreau--SMC