German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in entrance of Chancellery forward of a digital assembly between European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump on August 13, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.
Filip Singer/Getty Photos Europe
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Filip Singer/Getty Photos Europe
INKOO, Finland — Ukraine’s President has arrived in Berlin forward of a collection of excessive stakes European summits on Wednesday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was met by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz forward of a collection of pressing conferences aimed toward bolstering help for Ukraine — and constructing affect with President Donald Trump earlier than his assembly Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Throwing forward to his name with European companions, on Wednesday morning President Trump posted on Reality Social, “will be speaking to European Leaders in a short while. They are great people who want to see a deal done.”
In Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, there’s little optimism these efforts will succeed. “Take it from us,” Finnish Overseas Minister Elina Valtonen posted on X earlier this 12 months. “Putin has no intention to stop his expansionist pursuit.”
The Trump-Putin assembly would be the first between the Russian chief and a U.S. president since earlier than Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Some European officers have publicly welcomed the talks, however others warn they may come at a steep price.
“We welcome the efforts of President Trump to reach peace for Ukraine — a peace that is just and lasting and respects sovereignty,” stated European Fee spokesperson Arianna Podesta.
However Jarmo Makela, a veteran Finnish political commentator, says that glosses over deep fears in international locations which have misplaced territory to Russia up to now. Finland, he famous, had to surrender 12% of its land in a peace cope with Moscow after World Struggle II. “Everybody is very worried at this moment,” Makela instructed NPR.
Jarmo Makela, Finnish political commentator.
Jarmo Makela, Finnish political commentator./Teri Schultz
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Jarmo Makela, Finnish political commentator./Teri Schultz
That nervousness is driving three back-to-back, last-minute digital conferences amongst European leaders — together with one convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that can convey collectively Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary Normal Mark Rutte, and leaders from Finland, France, Italy, Poland, the U.Okay., and the EU.
Zelenskyy, chatting with journalists forward of the summit, accused Putin of in search of to dominate Ukraine as a result of “he does not want a sovereign Ukraine.” Forcing Kyiv to just accept Russia’s demand for management over elements of the Donbas — about 90,000 sq. kilometers — can be harmful, he warned.
Makela fears the result might mirror the 1938 Munich Settlement, when Nazi Germany seized a part of Czechoslovakia with guarantees to not take extra — guarantees later damaged. “The basic feeling is a fear that a part of Ukraine is given to Putin with the promise he wouldn’t take the rest. And then, a while later, he took it all,” he stated.
He warns that any U.S.-Russia “land swap” deal — giving Putin the Ukrainian territory his forces presently occupy — might set the stage for the Kremlin’s subsequent transfer. “The countries which really are preparing themselves for an immediate confrontation are the Baltic countries and Poland,” Makela stated. “Finland and the Nordic countries, we are preparing for the war, but we don’t expect it to take place immediately – (but) we do expect it.”
