A Ukrainian intelligence officer has warned that the Americans are being “unbelievably aggressive” in pressuring Kyiv to concede more territory to Russia. According to The Economist, Ukrainian officials fear Washington is aligning too closely with Moscow’s terms after last week’s Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
His remarks come just days after Trump’s highly controversial meeting with Putin in Alaska, where the US president echoed elements of the Kremlin’s peace demands. That encounter alarmed European and Ukrainian leaders, who fear Washington may be edging closer to Moscow’s agenda and weakening Western unity.
“They want to maximise the package they will get in return—from sanctions relief, to the return of seized assets, to the re-opening of energy markets,” the officer said. “What… is far less clear is why the Trump administration was pushing so forcefully to promote Russia’s interests.”
Relief gives way to unease
Initial reaction in Ukraine was one of relief that Donald Trump had not struck a “grand bargain” with Vladimir Putin. “Disaster averted: Trump has not sold us down the river,” one MP commented. But optimism quickly turned to unease as it became clear that Trump had sided with Putin’s sequencing of peace talks.
Instead of insisting on a ceasefire first, Trump embraced the Russian president’s call for a “comprehensive peace.” Adviser Serhiy Leshchenko reiterated that “a ceasefire must come before a more general agreement,” but Washington’s stance appears to have shifted.
Putin’s demands
At the summit, Putin reportedly repeated demands for Ukraine to withdraw from parts of Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts, in exchange for minor territorial concessions in Sumy and Kharkiv. Analysts note this would leave Russia in a stronger position to renew attacks in the future.
Former Ukrainian diplomat Roman Bezsmertny accused Putin of exploiting Trump’s ambitions: “Under Mr Putin’s spell, Trump is an incapacitated politician.”
Public opinion hardens
War fatigue has shifted opinion in Ukraine toward pragmatism. Polls show a majority willing to accept Russia’s current occupation in exchange for strong Western guarantees. But there are clear limits. Anton Hrushetskyi of the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology said “less than one in five” Ukrainians would accept the land swaps Trump is said to favour.
Next steps
Zelensky will meet Trump in Washington on 18 August, ahead of a possible three-way summit with Putin later this week. But Ukrainians fear the outcome may already be tilted. As Trump put it on Fox News: “Make a deal. Russia is a very big power. [You] are not.”