Kyiv — August 11, 2025 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is prepared to discuss relinquishing some Russian-controlled territories in exchange for a pathway to NATO membership and firm security guarantees, according to The Daily Telegraph.
The British paper, citing informed sources, reports that the Ukrainian leader privately indicated Crimea, as well as Russian-held areas of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, could be placed on the negotiating table. In return, Kyiv would seek “reliable security guarantees in the form of weapons supplies and a clear path toward NATO accession.”
The Telegraph describes this as a softening of Zelensky’s public stance, linked to the upcoming August 15 meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. It would be the first in-person encounter between American and Russian leaders since the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva in 2021.
Trump has said he intends to discuss the Ukraine conflict with Putin and foresees “some territorial exchanges” between Russia and Ukraine as part of a possible settlement. He also suggested there is “a chance” of arranging a three-way meeting with both Zelensky and Putin.
At the same time, the paper notes, Zelensky has told European leaders they should reject any U.S.-brokered peace plan that explicitly requires Ukraine to cede its territory.
The Alaska summit is expected to be closely watched in both Washington and Moscow, with diplomats speculating over whether it could lay the groundwork for the most significant shift in the conflict since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
