Ukraine is open to a US-backed aerial cease-fire with Russia, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky has said — as President Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin prepare to meet for high-stakes talks in Alaska.
“Ukraine is ready to discuss it, is ready to consider this scenario, and sees it as the initial stage for reaching realistic negotiating positions,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published Tuesday.
However, Podolyak said Putin is unlikely to cooperate.
“Ukraine is ready to discuss” a US-backed aerial cease-fire with Russia, an adviser to President Zelensky said. The Presidential Office of Ukraine“Russia is unlikely to forgo the use of strategic aviation and the massive deployment of drones,” he warned. “Aerial bombardments are a key tool with which Moscow exerts psychological pressure on the country and influences our position.”
He also cast doubt on hopes for Friday’s summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska, where the pair will discuss the bloody three-year conflict.
“Putin is not ready for realistic negotiations. His main task at this stage is to stall and mislead the US administration,” Podlyak warned.
An explosion lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone strike on August 8, 2025. REUTERSHe also called for the greater use of sanctions to step up pressure on Putin’s regime alongside further military support for Kyiv.
“Without the use of coercive instruments, such as economic sanctions, and without a military defeat, nothing will happen. The two go hand in hand,” he said.
Discussions about a mutual halt on aerial strikes have been part of negotiations since the start of the war, but have never been fulfilled.
Ukraine has rejected reports that the Kremlin is considering pausing its long-range strike campaign.
President Trump has told European leaders he wants a Ukraine cease-fire agreed during Friday’s talks with Putin, Zelensky said on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s leader was speaking after a virtual meeting with Trump and other European leaders.
“All the partners demonstrated one voice, one desire, and one principle. The same principle and the same vision. This is an important step forward,” Zelensky said.
“Putin is not ready for realistic negotiations” and his “main task at this stage is to stall and mislead the US,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. APTrump told Zelensky he wants a “cease-fire” and “security guarantees,” Zelensky said during the press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“Russia should not have the right to veto on Ukraine’s Nato prospects and there should be joint pressure on Russia and there should be sanctions,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also called for a three-way meeting with Trump and Putin, reiterating that Kyiv must be involved in any cease-fire negotiations.
