Zelenskyy addresses Putin’s “new” plan, EU chief expresses support

The full text of the President’s speech in Brussels is available on the official presidential website.

Although the summit at the U.S. Air Force’s Elmendorf-Richardson base in Alaska ended without formal results, leaks in Western media (citing European politicians who spoke with Trump after his calls with Putin and Zelenskyy), say Putin’s “new” plan is nothing new at all — just a reworked version of his long-standing “special military operation objectives.”

The vast majority of these points, presumably proposed by Putin through Trump and possibly to be discussed on August 18 in Washington, received a response from Zelenskyy.

The current Russian objectives are highlighted in separate subheadings.

Russia insists on negotiations without a ceasefire

"First. We have to stop the killings. Putin has many demands but we do not know all of them. If there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. It is impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons. So it’s necessary to cease fire and work quickly on a final deal. We’ll talk about it in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killing. But he must do it."

Moscow wants to negotiate about Ukraine outside Ukraine

"Second. We need real negotiations, which means they can start where the front line is now. The contact line is the best line for talking. And Europeans support this, and we thank everyone."

Putin demands all of Donbas — both occupied and unoccupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk — allegedly promising in writing not to attack Ukraine in return

"Russia is still unsuccessful in the Donetsk region, Putin has been unable to take it for 12 years. And the Constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible to give up territory or trade land. Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral – Ukraine, United States, Russia."

The Russian leader avoids the trilateral format, preferring one-on-one talks with Trump, asking him to lift sanctions

"So far, Russia gives no sign the trilateral will happen, and if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow."

According to Putin, Ukraine’s security should depend not on the West, but on his partners, primarily China. Russia does not want a Euro-integrated Ukraine

"And we consider EU accession to be part of security guarantees. And we have heard from President Trump that America and Putin see it the same way. So we talked about the EU accession negotiations. There can be no division between Ukraine and Moldova – that would simply be a very bad move, to my mind. If such a division takes place, it will automatically mean that Europe is divided on Ukraine, that Europe does not have a common and strong position on guarantees. Many in Europe see that division will only make things worse."

Russia aims to limit Ukraine’s Defense Forces — both in numbers and in capabilities (weapons and technology)

Answering questions from journalists at the briefing, Zelenskyy stated:

"Putin will give us no security guarantees. Security guarantees mean a strong army, and only Ukraine can provide that."

"Funding for this army, I believe, can come only from Europe. Weapons for this army can come from our own production and European production, but some things exist only in the U.S. These, I consider true security guarantees."

"Whether our partners get involved, whether Ukraine has such protection in the sky — these are still questions. We very much want answers to them."

The media also mentioned Putin's demands to restore the privileged status of the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

All this while Russia retains all the Ukrainian territories it currently occupies.

Ursula von der Leyen fully supports Zelenskyy’s position, especially regarding stopping the killings of Ukrainians, strengthening the army, and imposing sanctions

The President of the European Commission raised no objections to any of the points Zelenskyy made at the briefing and, on her part, made statements regarding a ceasefire as a condition for negotiations with Russia and the strengthening of Ukraine’s military.

The European Commission president emphasized that the term “ceasefire” is not what matters, but the action itself. She stated that whether it is called a ceasefire or a peace agreement is irrelevant; what is important is to stop the killings. She underlined the significance of a trilateral meeting between the presidents of Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, and stressed the need for a clear timeframe to be followed, noting that the focus should be on the content rather than deadlines.

Von der Leyen: peace in Ukraine must be achieved by force

The European Commission President also outlined three main principles guiding the European Union’s support for Ukraine.

First, Ukraine must receive strong security guarantees to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. There can be no restrictions on the development and strengthening of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

"Ukraine must become a 'steel porcupine' that no attacker can digest," emphasized von der Leyen.

She noted that the EU welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump’s willingness to help create a security guarantee system similar to NATO’s Article 5. According to her, Europe and the coalition of the willing are ready to contribute to this process. She also stressed the importance of developing Europe’s and Ukraine’s defense capabilities, including in drone production.

Von der Leyen confirmed that Ukraine’s EU membership is also seen as a security element.

Second, she emphasized the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of changing territorial boundaries by force.

"These decisions must be made by Ukraine and only by Ukraine. They cannot be made without Ukraine at the table," stressed the European Commission President.

Third, von der Leyen stated that the EU will continue diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia. She recalled that 18 sanction packages have already been adopted and work on the 19th is ongoing, expected to be approved in early September.

She said that they had already made sure frozen Russian assets were being used in Ukraine’s interest and added that they would continue to put pressure on Russia’s military economy in order to force Putin to come to the negotiating table.

Leaders of the European coalition of the willing also assured Zelenskyy and von der Leyen that they fully share their vision. On August 18, all of them will meet with Trump, who, analysts believe, would try to push them toward concessions to Putin.

• According to the latest Fox News report, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly backs Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's proposal for Moscow to take full control of Donbas.