BERLIN, Aug 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and 
European leaders were to hold urgent talks with US President Donald Trump on 
Wednesday, hoping to convince him to respect Kyiv's interests in his looming 
summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

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.