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 Photographs Europe
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Filip Singer/Getty Photographs 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 geared toward bolstering assist 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 Fact Social, “might be talking to European Leaders in a short time. They’re nice individuals who need to see a deal carried out.”
In Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, there’s little optimism these efforts will succeed. “Take it from us,” Finnish International Minister Elina Valtonen posted on X earlier this yr. “Putin has no intention to cease 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 value.
“We welcome the efforts of President Trump to achieve peace for Ukraine — a peace that’s simply and lasting and respects sovereignty,” mentioned European Fee spokesperson Arianna Podesta.
However Jarmo Makela, a veteran Finnish political commentator, says that glosses over deep fears in nations which have misplaced territory to Russia prior to now. Finland, he famous, had to surrender 12% of its land in a peace take care of Moscow after World Conflict II. “Everyone may be very apprehensive at this second,” Makela informed 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 may convey collectively Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte, and leaders from Finland, France, Italy, Poland, the U.Ok., and the EU.
Zelenskyy, talking to journalists forward of the summit, accused Putin of looking for to dominate Ukraine as a result of “he doesn’t desire a sovereign Ukraine.” Forcing Kyiv to simply accept Russia’s demand for management over components of the Donbas — about 90,000 sq. kilometers — could be harmful, he warned.
Makela fears the result may mirror the 1938 Munich Settlement, when Nazi Germany seized a part of Czechoslovakia with guarantees to not take extra — guarantees later damaged. “The fundamental feeling is a worry that part of Ukraine is given to Putin with the promise he would not take the remainder. After which, some time later, he took all of it,” he mentioned.
He warns that any U.S.-Russia “land swap” deal — giving Putin the Ukrainian territory his forces at the moment occupy — may set the stage for the Kremlin’s subsequent transfer. “The nations which actually are getting ready themselves for a right away confrontation are the Baltic nations and Poland,” Makela mentioned. “Finland and the Nordic nations, we’re getting ready for the struggle, however we do not anticipate it to happen instantly – (however) we do anticipate it.”
