Russia has launched a scathing attack on European nations, accusing them of attempting to undermine former U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiatives to achieve peace in Ukraine, just days before his scheduled summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev branded European leaders “euro-imbeciles” for allegedly obstructing American efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. His remarks followed a joint declaration by the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland, and the EU reaffirming their “unwavering commitment” to Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” and calling for increased “pressure on Moscow” through “restrictive measures.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the declaration as a “Nazi leaflet.” She asserted that the European group “calls for a ceasefire, but not the kind that would be achieved by stopping arms supplies to the Kyiv terrorists.” Zakharova further claimed, via Telegram, that the document stated peace in Ukraine could only be achieved by pressuring Russia and supporting Kyiv.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, convening an emergency meeting of foreign ministers, stated that “all temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” rejecting Moscow’s proposal which Brussels labelled “one-sided.” Trump had previously suggested “territorial swaps” as a path to peace.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance emphasized the need for compromise in a Fox News interview, stating the eventual deal “won’t make either Russia or Ukraine happy.” The situation remains fluid. European nations and Kyiv insist no solution is possible without Ukraine’s participation, though there are no signals yet of President Volodymyr Zelensky being invited to the mid-August summit. U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker called a trilateral meeting “possible,” while Vance deemed a Putin-Zelensky meeting before the Trump summit unproductive.
Analysts note Ukraine will be just one topic at the upcoming Alaska meeting – the first between a Russian and U.S. president in over four years. Strategic stability and bilateral relations are also urgent, particularly the impending February expiration of the New START nuclear arms treaty. Moscow recently warned it no longer feels bound by a moratorium on deploying intermediate-range missiles, abandoned by Trump in 2019. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov cited a “risk of global nuclear conflict.”
More alarming for Kyiv and European capitals was Vance reiterating the Trump administration’s refusal to fund Ukraine’s defense. “Americans are tired of sending their tax dollars to this conflict,” Vance stated, adding that Europe was welcome to pay for U.S. weapons sent to Kyiv – echoing Trump’s prior description of the arrangement as a “business.”
On the ground, local authorities reported five people killed in Russian attacks within Ukraine and two killed in Ukrainian drone raids inside Russia. Ukraine claimed responsibility for a drone strike on an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region, approximately 1,000 km from the front line.