Zelensky says Ukraine will ‘not give up land’ ahead of Trump-Putin summit in Alaska

Our live coverage has ended for the day. See the latest news on Ukraine here or read through the posts below.

The Chevening House where David Lammy, JD Vance, Andriy Yermak and representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Poland met for talks today.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said talks between Ukrainian officials, US Vice President JD Vance, and their UK and European counterparts today were “constructive.”

“We conveyed all our messages. Our arguments are being heard. The dangers are being taken into account,” Zelensky said during his nightly address to the nation.

Hosted by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Vance at Chevening House in Kent, England, Ukraine was represented by Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, while security representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Poland were also in attendance, according to the Ukrainian president.

The comments come as a US official said the meeting “produced significant progress toward President Trump’s goal of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.”

Vice President JD Vance (C) speaks as Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy (L) and US Ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens (R) listen during a meeting at Chevening House, in Chevening, southeast England, on August 8th.

A meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and European and Ukrainian officials made “significant progress” ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday, a US official said.

The officials met for hours today at Chevening House in Kent, England.

The meeting, the US official said, “produced significant progress toward President Trump’s goal of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.”

In an X post, Lammy said: “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace.”

CNN has inquired for more details on the substance of that progress and how the Ukrainian officials present are feeling about the possibility of a resolution to the conflict.

Russia has launched a new push for control in southern Ukraine, using drones to target key access roads and strike a vital bridge in Kherson.

The goal: to split the city in two. Civilians are caught in the middle, facing constant drone attacks as they try to escape or survive in a divided city.

See more here:

A man waits for news about his missing wife after a residential building in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine was destroyed by a Russian strike, in May.

Location matters, former real estate mogul US President Donald Trump said.

Moments later he announced Alaska, a place sold by Russia to the United States 158 years ago for $7.2 million, would be where Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to sell his land deal of the century, getting Kyiv to hand over chunks of land he’s not yet been able to occupy.

The conditions around Friday’s summit so wildly favor Moscow, it is obvious why Putin leapt at the chance, after months of fake-negotiation, and it is hard to see how a deal emerges from the bilateral that does not eviscerate Ukraine.

Read our full analysis here and watch more from CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh in Kyiv below:

US officials have said a plan offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine would include significant territorial concessions by Kyiv, according to Western officials briefed on the matter.

The plan, which Putin presented to US President Donald Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff in a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, would require Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region — the majority of which is currently occupied by Russia — as well as Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The plan would also freeze current battle lines, but other details of the proposal were still unclear.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has quashed the idea of any territory concessions, saying his country “will not give land to the occupier.”

Some background: Donbas, a sprawling and beleaguered heartland region of Ukraine, has suffered years of conflict. Those who have lived in and studied the region describe it as an independent and gritty center of industry that has remained suspicious of outside forces for decades.

War broke out in 2014 after Russian-backed rebels seized government buildings in towns and cities across eastern Ukraine. Intense fighting left portions of Luhansk and Donetsk, in the Donbas region, in the hands of Russian-backed separatists.

Shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin issued a decree recognizing the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken to several European leaders today and expressed his gratitude for their continued support for Ukraine.

It comes just ahead of a quickly-arranged meeting in England, featuring US Vice President JD Vance, UK foreign minister David Lammy and European officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a post on X that he had a discussion with Zelensky as well as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“We remain determined to support Ukraine, working in a spirit of unity and by leaning on the work carried out within the framework of the Coalition of the Willing.

“The future of Ukraine cannot be decided without the Ukrainians who have been fighting for their freedom and security for over three years now.”

The Ukrainian leader earlier confirmed he had held a phone call with the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He noted that both leaders see the danger of “Russia’s plan to reduce everything to a discussion of the impossible.”

Zelensky said he had also spoken to Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristjan Michal, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

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CNN speaks to Ukrainians over Trump-Putin meeting

01:03 • Source: CNN

Ukrainians in Kyiv have been giving us their reaction to the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska next Friday.

Speaking to CNN in the capital city, Artem, 33, said the meeting is “just for show,” and described Trump as a “spineless windbag.”

Trump indicated Friday there could be “some swapping of territories” between Russia and Ukraine as part of a negotiation to end the war.

Natalya, 48, described the prospect of ceding the Donetsk region to Russia to secure peace as “unfair and horrible.”

Svitlana, 57, said she believes Putin has no intention of halting his offensive, and offered a bleak outlook on Ukraine’s prospects for victory.

“We’ll wait until Putin is carried out dead, maybe then the situation will change,” she added.

Vice President JD Vance during a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening House in Sevenoaks, England, on Friday.

We can give you more now on the backdrop to today’s quickly arranged meeting in England, featuring US Vice President JD Vance and UK foreign minister David Lammy.

It is intended to provide European officials a better sense of the United States’ position ahead of next week’s Alaska summit, as well as American officials’ understanding of Russia’s stance, according to Western officials.

European leaders have been scrambling since Wednesday to gain a better read on what Putin told Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff during talks in Moscow on Wednesday. When Trump briefed European leaders on the telephone the same day, he was light on details beyond saying the plan would require Ukraine to cede certain territory.

Witkoff was expected to participate in Saturday’s meeting virtually, the officials said. Vance was already in England on holiday with his family, and the meeting was added to his schedule, which had already included a meeting with the British foreign secretary on Friday.

The way the Europeans understand it, the plan put forward by Putin would give Russia control of Ukraine’s entire eastern Donbas region, which Russia currently partially occupies. But the exact contours of the plan remain somewhat unclear, even after several follow-up phone conversations between the Europeans and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Witkoff.

That includes the fate of the two other regions that have been in Moscow’s sights, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Also unclear is the status of US security guarantees going forward, the officials said.

That has left European leaders urgently working to both ascertain more details, but also to stress the importance of Ukraine having a say in the final plan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony marking the 84th anniversary of the Nazi German invasion into the Soviet Union, in Moscow on June 22.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Alaska next week to meet with President Donald Trump, he will be able do so with confidence that he won’t be arrested.

That’s because while Putin is subject to an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued in 2023, neither Russia nor the US are signatories to the Rome Statute, which set up the court in 2002.

The ICC charged that the Russian leader was “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children)” from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. The Kremlin labeled the court’s actions as “outrageous and unacceptable.”

Putin has been careful with his travel itineraries since the warrant was issued. In 2023, he declined an invitation to a summit in South Africa. But, a year later, he did make his way to China and North Korea, neither of which is signed up to the court.

The ICC relies on members to arrest and extradite suspects to The Hague, where it is based.

In 2023, Putin did travel to Mongolia, which is a signatory. Mongolia asserted that under Article 98 of the Rome Statute, a state cannot “act inconsistently with its obligations under international law with respect to the (…) diplomatic immunity of a person.”

As Russia’s head of state, the Mongolians argued Putin enjoys absolute immunity from ICC proceedings unless Russia waives it.

The court rejected that claim, saying that another article removes all immunities. A panel of judges said member states “are duty-bound to arrest and surrender individuals subject to ICC warrants, regardless of official position or nationality.”

Not only has the US never been a signatory to the Rome Statute, but in February Trump ordered sanctions against the court after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

An executive order accused the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”

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'I thought, do or die': How a Ukrainian soldier cycled to safety after Russian assault

01:55 • Source: CNN

After a Russian assault left all three of his fellow soldiers dead and himself wounded, Andriy, stationed near Siversk, Ukraine, thought his life was over.

But back at his command bunker, they hatched a plan. Armed with determination, a will to live - and a bike - he was able to escape. CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits soldiers on the front lines of the Kharkiv region on August 4.

National security advisors, including those from the US, Ukraine and Europe, are gathering in Britain later today for a meeting hosted by US Vice President JD Vance and UK foreign minister David Lammy.

Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky insisted his country “will not give land to the occupier” after US President Donald Trump – who is due to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday – said there could be some “swapping of territories” to end the war in Ukraine.

If you’re just joining us, below are the latest developments:

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a meeting with Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Kent, England on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025

We reported earlier on the phone call between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

We know now US Vice President JD Vance and the UK’s Foreign Minister David Lammy are hosting a meeting later today in Britain, with Ukrainian and European allies.

According to Downing Street, the meeting is taking place in Kent at the request of the US and comes ahead of an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as we’ve also been reporting.

The UK is hosting national security advisers including from the US, Ukraine and European partners, Downing Street said.

The meeting is expected to run for the rest of the day.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the gathering.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes hands with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during a June meeting in London.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just said he held a phone call with the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier today.

“I spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. I am grateful for his support,” Zelensky said.

He noted that both leaders see the danger of “Russia’s plan to reduce everything to a discussion of the impossible.”

Zelensky added that they agree on the need for “truly lasting peace” for Ukraine.

A UK government spokesperson added they looked ahead to the meeting of National Security Advisers from Europe, Ukraine and the United States taking place today, hosted by the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Vice President JD Vance.

“Both leaders welcomed President Trump’s desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and agreed that we must keep up the pressure on Putin to end his illegal war,” the spokesperson added.

“The Prime Minister ended the call by reiterating his unwavering support for Ukraine and its people.”

The Pentagon is seen in Washington on Aug. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Away from developments on next week’s US and Russia summit in Alaska now, and a memo written by the Pentagon’s policy chief last month gives the Defense Department the option to divert certain weapons and equipment intended for Ukraine back into US stockpiles, according to four people who have read it.

This is a dramatic shift that could see billions of dollars previously earmarked for the war-torn country go toward replenishing dwindling American supplies.

The memo adds even more uncertainty to an already murky picture of the status of US arms shipments to Ukraine ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday.

Even as Trump has greenlit a plan to sell US weapons to Ukraine through NATO, there remain deep concerns inside the Pentagon over arming Kyiv in its war with Russia at the expense of US stockpiles. That is particularly true of highly sought-after items that remain in short supply, such as interceptor missiles, air defense systems and artillery ammunition.

Read more details, here.

We can bring you Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s video address following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a summit in Alaska involving the US and Russia.

You can watch it in the report below:

Zelensky rejects territorial concession with Russia

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address after President Trump's announcement to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine is "ready to work together with President Trump," but quashed the idea of any territory concessions.

01:22 • Source: CNN

Jill Dougherty speaks with CNN on Saturday.

Former CNN Moscow Bureau chief Jill Dougherty has been reacting to the confirmation of next Friday’s summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She told CNN’s Isabel Rosales on CNN This Morning the fact the summit is taking place on US soil makes for an “amazingly complex and fascinating moment,” when it comes to relations between Russia and the US.

“The United States has up to this point, isolated Russia, isolated Putin…I think it is a very big deal to say, welcome to Alaska,” she said.

“There’s a lot of history here, Alaska used to be part of Russia until the US bought it and at this moment, there are nationalists in Russia saying we “want it back”. So I think there’s a lot going on.

“I would say there’s a new wrinkle, though, the Russians now are saying that maybe because all of this is so complicated, we need a second summit…the first one hasn’t even taken place.

“Now they’re talking about another one in Moscow, and they’re also talking about what I would say is kind of luring President Trump with the idea that the Arctic, of course, up near Alaska, is a place that could be developed and there could be all sorts of deals.”

Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, said today it had struck a Russian logistical hub storing Iranian-made Shahed drones in Russia’s east-central region of Tatarstan.

Long-range drones hit the warehouse located in the village of Kzyl-Yul, a statement from the SBU said.

Video footage released by the SBU appears to show one drone hitting the site directly, before erupting into a huge fireball.

“The warehouses where the enemy stores the Shahed drones it uses to terrorize Ukraine every night are one of the legitimate military targets,” the statement added.

“Each such successful special operation reduces the enemy’s ability to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine.”

A Ukrainian serviceman checks the sky for Russian combat drones, near the town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, on August 5.

Russian forces in eastern and northern Ukraine have made further advances, according to analysts – with the towns of Pokrovsk in Donetsk and Kupyansk in Kharkiv at risk of being surrounded.

The incremental Russian gains come as Russian President Vladimir Putin proposes a plan to the US that would require Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region — most of which is currently occupied — as well as Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, according to US officials.

The Russians have been trying to take Pokrovsk for more than a year. Ukrainian defenses have held, but Moscow’s advances to the north and southwest of the town are threatening to cut off Ukrainian supply routes.

The Ukrainian military said Saturday that there had been 45 Russian attacks in the Pokrovsk area over the past 24 hours.

A Ukrainian officer in the area told CNN today: “I can’t say the situation is critical but there are risks (of encirclement).” He added that at present the Russians had not reached a village to the north of Pokrovsk that is a vital resupply route.

The Russians have also made further advances towards the border of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to the unofficial DeepState website, which follows battlefield developments.

The Russians have closed in on Kupyansk from the north. The Center for Defense Strategies – a Ukrainian think-tank – said Saturday that Russian forces are trying to reach the main highway supplying Ukrainian troops in the area.

For context: According to the Belfer Center at Harvard University, Russian forces gained 226 square miles (585 sq kms) of Ukrainian territory between July 8 and August 5, up from 190 square miles the previous month.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin greets US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff prior to their talks in Moscow on Wednesday. During their talks, Putin revealed to Witkoff a plan to halt the war in Ukraine.

US officials have briefed European leaders and Ukrainian officials on a plan offered by Putin to halt the war in Ukraine in exchange for significant territorial concessions by Kyiv, according to Western officials briefed on the matter.

The plan, which Putin presented to Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff in a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, would require Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region — the majority of which is currently occupied by Russia — as well as Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The plan would freeze current battle lines, but other details of the proposal were still unclear.

It alarmed some European officials, who voiced concern it was Putin’s attempt to avoid Trump’s threatened sanctions, which were supposed to come due Friday, while offering little in return.

But the plan appeared to be the impetus for which Trump put in motion plans for a summit meeting with Putin as soon as next week.

Additional calls with the Europeans have occurred over the past two days, including with Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Witkoff spoke with several European officials on Friday to lay out additional details of the plan.

It wasn’t clear what the plan would mean for two other regions in Ukraine — Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — where Russia controls some territory, beyond Russia stopping its offensive there.

Nor was it clear how Putin’s proposal would address the Russian leader’s other demands for ending the war, including a pledge that Ukraine never join NATO or that it limit the size of its military.