Putin doesn’t see Ukraine as a sociergn nation but as a puppet state of Russia’s that he can control. He doesn’t see them as having the right to determine their own future. Here is a quote from the article.
Putin signalled no movement in Russia’s long-held demands, which also include a veto on Kyiv’s desired membership in the NATO alliance.
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Source says Putin demands control of entire Donetsk region
Trump says Zelenskiy has ‘gotta make a deal’
Zelenskiy reported to have rejected demand
Zelenskiy to visit Trump on Monday with European back-up
Europeans say they will maintain or increase pressure on Russia
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/KYIV, Aug 16 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war with Russia because “Russia is a very big power, and they’re not”, after a summit where Vladimir Putin was reported to have demanded more Ukrainian land.
After the two leaders met in Alaska on Friday, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Putin had offered to freeze most front lines if Kyiv ceded all of Donetsk, the industrial region that is one of Moscow’s main targets, a source familiar with the matter said.
Zelenskiy rejected the demand, the source said. Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014.
Trump also said he agreed with Putin that a peace deal should be sought without the prior ceasefire that Ukraine and its European allies had demanded. That was a change from his position before the summit, when he said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on.
“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Zelenskiy said Russia’s unwillingness to pause the fighting would complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace. “Stopping the killing is a key element of stopping the war,” he said on X.
Nevertheless, Zelenskiy said he would meet Trump in Washington on Monday.
That will evoke memories of a meeting in the White House Oval Office in February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance gave Zelenskiy a brutal public dressing-down. Trump said a three-way meeting with Putin and Zelenskiy could follow.
Kyiv’s European allies welcomed Trump‘s efforts but vowed to back Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia. European leaders might join Monday’s White House meeting as well, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been gradually advancing for months. The war – the deadliest in Europe for 80 years – has killed or wounded well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts.
RUSSIA LIKELY TO WELCOME TRUMP’S COMMENTS
Trump’s various comments on the three-hour meeting with Putin mostly aligned with the public positions of Moscow, which says a full settlement will be complex because positions are “diametrically opposed”.
Putin signalled no movement in Russia’s long-held demands, which also include a veto on Kyiv’s desired membership in the NATO alliance. He made no mention in public of meeting Zelenskiy. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said a three-way summit had not been discussed.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump signalled that he and Putin had discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had “largely agreed”.
“I think we’re pretty close to a deal,” he said, adding: “Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they’ll say ‘no’.”
Asked what he would advise Zelenskiy to do, Trump said: “Gotta make a deal.”
“Look, Russia is a very big power, and they’re not,” he added.
Item 1 of 10 U.S. President Donald Trump looks on next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
[1/10]U.S. President Donald Trump looks on next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Graphic: Map of Ukraine shows the eastern oblasts and the areas under Russian control
NEED FOR SECURITY GUARANTEES FOR UKRAINE
Zelenskiy has consistently said he cannot concede territory without changes to Ukraine’s constitution, and Kyiv sees Donetsk’s “fortress cities” such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk as a bulwark against further Russian advances.
Zelenskiy has also insisted on security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again. He said he and Trump had discussed “positive signals” on the U.S. taking part, and that Ukraine needed a lasting peace, not “just another pause” between Russian invasions.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed what he described as Trump’s openness to providing security guarantees to Ukraine under a peace deal. He said security guarantees were “essential to any just and lasting peace.”
Putin, who has opposed involving foreign ground forces, said he agreed with Trump that Ukraine’s security must be “ensured”.
For Putin, just sitting down with Trump represented a victory. He had been ostracised by Western leaders since the start of the war, and just a week earlier had faced a threat of new sanctions from Trump.
‘1-0 FOR PUTIN’
Trump spoke to European leaders after returning to Washington. Several stressed the need to keep pressure on Russia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said an end to the war was closer than ever, thanks to Trump, but said he would impose more sanctions on Russia if the war continues.
European leaders said in a statement that Ukraine must have “ironclad” security guarantees and no limits should be placed on its armed forces or right to seek NATO membership, as Russia has sought.
Some European commentators were scathing about the summit.
“Putin got his red carpet treatment with Trump, while Trump got nothing,” Wolfgang Ischinger, former German ambassador to Washington, posted on X.
Both Russia and Ukraine carried out overnight air attacks, a daily occurrence, while fighting raged on the front.
Trump told Fox he would postpone imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil, but he might have to “think about it” in two or three weeks.
He ended his remarks after the summit by telling Putin: “We’ll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.”
“Next time in Moscow,” a smiling Putin responded in English.
Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Trevor Hunnicutt, Jeff Mason, Lidia Kelly, Jasper Ward, Costas Pitas, Ismail Shakil, Bhargav Acharya, Alan Charlish, Yuliia Dysa, Pavel Polityuk, Gwladys Fouche, Dave Graham, Paul Sandle, Joshua McElwee, Andreas Rinke, Felix Light and Moscow bureau; Writing by Andy Sullivan, Kevin Liffey, Mark Trevelyan, Joseph Ax and James Oliphant; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Gareth Jones and Cynthia Osterman
August 17, 1966 Beatle John Lennon, while in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, expressed his admiration for American draft dodgers who resisted enlistment in the U.S. armed forces because of the Vietnam War. An interview with the Beatles 8/17/1966
August 17, 1982 Enten Eller The first draft resister since the Vietnam era, Enten Eller, was convicted. A member of the Mennonite Church of the Brethren Resistance, he received three years’ probation in Bridgewater, Virginia, for refusing to register for the draft. Support demonstrations occurred all over the U.S. The history of Mennonite resistance to conscription
US taxpayers paid 10s of millions dollars by having the US Air Force escort Putin to and from Russia. Including the F-35 Presidential escorts for Air Force One. The Russian State media is laughing, having a propaganda field day. Putin came home as a victor
— Donbas Samizdat (Донбасс Самиздат) (@DonbasDIY) August 16, 2025
Russian state media is showing American soldiers on their knees for Putin. This was a massive Trump failure and a humiliating day for the United States pic.twitter.com/xqYyoQvWXu
Trump: "Vladimir Putin said something — one of the most interesting things. He said 'your election was rigged because you have mail in voting.' He said, 'mail in voting, every election — no country has mail in voting. It's impossible to have mail in voting and have honest… pic.twitter.com/glEXFHWp6u
Some examples of countries that use postal ballots include: Australia Austria Canada Czechia Denmark Finland France (for citizens abroad) Germany Greece Hungary India Indonesia Italy Malaysia Mexico Norway Philippines Singapore Spain Sweden (for citizens abroad) Switzerland United Kingdom United States (various states)
Tapper: So despite the fact that president Trump called this an extremely productive meeting.. there doesn't seem to have actually been anything achieved, at least according to what the two men just said pic.twitter.com/S1eQg4Plu8
Absolutely nothing of value was said or done in Alaska. All that happened was putin got the legitimacy he craves & then invited Trump to Moscow. Total joke pic.twitter.com/Zz63jGxt8Z
Putin invites Trump to Moscow. Putin says the war in Ukraine wouldn't have happened if Trump had been President. (It was ongoing when Trump became President). NOTHING Announced. Trump thanked him. Took no questions and both men walked off stage. pic.twitter.com/0NXU1uVS1Y
This is how an American president should treat Putin. No laughs, no fun handshakes, no casual conversation. You treat him like the war criminal that he is.
August 16, 1953 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the constitutional monarch of Iran, dismissed the elected prime minister, Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, without the approval of the parliament. In appointing Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi in his place, the Shah was following the coup plan, code-named TPAJAX, developed by the CIA under the direction of Kermit Roosevelt (grandson of President Theodore), and Great Britain’s intelligence service, MI6. About Mohammad Mosaddeq The real story according to CIA records (Yes, it is still there; also it’s a .pdf)
August 16, 1963 Buddhists staged protests across South Vietnam against the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem, a Catholic who removed Buddhists from important government positions and replaced them with Catholics. Buddhist monks protested Diem’s intolerance of other religions and the methods he used to silence them. Several Buddhist monks immolated themselves in protest of the war being waged against insurgents in the south, and against North Vietnam. 20,000 Buddhists in silent march for peace, Hue, South Vietnam. 1966 The Buddist monk Quang Duc became the first to kill himself in an anti-government protest in Vietnam in June, 1963
This is an interview with two doctors who served in Gaza. They tell of Israeli soldiers taking the baby formula the doctors tried to take in. They talk of the starving babies they can’t feed because Israel refuses any baby formula into Gaza. They talk of the systemic targeting of women and children by drone copters. The male doctor describes a game the IDF plays with using teenaged boys 11 to 16 for target practice. One day they would target heads, the next day they targeted chest, then abdomens, then arms, then legs. The most horrifying was the days the hospital was brought teenagers again 11 to 16 who had been shot in the testicles. Yes Israeli soldiers felt it was a great idea to shoot boys in the balls and dicks to make sure they couldn’t create any more Palestinians. I have no use for the government of Israel nor any use for the people of the country who support this. The public knows what is happening, the military knows what they are doing. This is a genocide of the Palestinians so that Jewish people can have the land. Jewish people of all people should understand this is wrong. Never again did not mean just never again to the Jews, it means never again for any genocide. Yes the US government is complicit in this act and should be held to account, but while we did not do enough at least democrats were willing to try to stop it, tRump and the republicans endorse it. There are chapter markings on the progress bar to help you get to the most damning parts of the interviews. Israel is not letting new doctors go in to help. They are killing the doctors and aid workers. Hugs
August 15, 1876 Congress passed a law to remove the Lakota Sioux and their allies from the Black Hills country of South Dakota after gold was found there. Often referred to as the “starve or sell” bill, it provided that no further appropriations would be made for 1868 Treaty-guaranteed rations for the Sioux unless they gave up their sacred Black Hills, or Paha Sapa. That treaty had granted them the territory and hunting rights in exchange for peace. Lakota Sioux watch as their Black Hills are invaded. painting by Howard Terpning The larger story of the Sioux and the U.S.
August 15, 1947 Great Britain partitioned its empire on the Asian subcontinent into primarily Hindu, but nominally secular, India, and predominantly Muslim Pakistan (including the non-contiguous state of East Bengal, now the nation of Bangladesh). The two nations became independent of British rule after 200 years of colonial control, and more than two decades of Gandhi-led resistance. Rioting between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims followed, especially over the state of Kashmir, majority Muslim but newly part of India.Mahatma Gandhi had been an advocate for a united India where Hindus and Muslims would live together in peace. A few months later, at the age of 78, he began a fast with the purpose of stopping the sectarian bloodshed, in which hundreds of thousands died, and many more displaced. After five days the opposing leaders pledged to stop the fighting and Gandhi broke his fast. Twelve days later he was assassinated by a Hindu opposed to his program of tolerance for all ethnicities, castes and religions. One of the principal leaders of the independence movement, Jawaharlal Nehru, who became India’s first prime minister, spoke to the Constituent Assembly of India in New Delhi:“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.” Among the tributes to Gandhi upon his death were these words by Albert Einstein: “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.” Listen to a portion of Nehru’s speech and a bit of old film More on partition and independence
August 15, 1967 The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at a Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, urged a massive civil disobedience drive in northern cities. Responding to the widespread rioting there, he said, “It is purposeless to tell Negroes they should not be enraged when they should be . . . Civil disobedience can utilize the militance wasted in riots . . . .”
Chuck Schumer has created and talked about a fictitious family declaring they are real people. It seems he has talked himself into believing they are real. This is the Democratic Party leader in the Senate. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 