A complicated scene has been set over the Ukrainian following the diplomatic fever of recent days, culminating in Trump  meetings with both Putin and Zelensky – plus European leaders.

For his part, the American president is pushing for an immediate solution and is seeking a quick result - without, however, the conditions being met at the moment, the more one approaches them, the more their complexity becomes clear.

Russia continues to set maximalist conditions that make the prospect of a meeting increasingly doubtful.

In particular, it brings back demands that Kiev considers impossible to accept, while Europeans try to balance encouragement of the process with skepticism about the Kremlin's intentions.

Meanwhile, the conflicts in the field continue, adding further weight to a peace initiative that so far remains more a matter of impressions than substance.

The summit meeting scenario is being removed

The discussion about a possible meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky has taken on new dimensions in recent days, with Donald Trump attempting to bring the two leaders to the same table.

Moscow avoids committing: Despite Putin's initial statements that he is open to dialogue, the Kremlin was quick to downplay the possibility of an immediate summit meeting, suggesting that such a development would require gradual preparation.

For Putin, a meeting of this nature raises serious dilemmas: on the one hand, refusing could anger the American president, who has already threatened new sanctions; on the other hand, participating would put the Russian president before a leader he has described for 3.5 years as a puppet of the West and an illegal one.

According to a report by the WSJ, in the Russian narrative the conflict is not about Moscow and Kiev, but is part of a broader war with the West. Zelensky, according to Putin, is not an interlocutor with real weight but an executive organ of Western governments.

This position makes the prospect of negotiating with the Ukrainian president problematic for the Kremlin, as it contradicts the legitimizing base it has built domestically.

Trump, after his meeting with Putin in Alaska and talks with Zelensky and European leaders in Washington, said he was trying to bring the two leaders to the same table, while acknowledging the difficulties. They were never exactly friends, he commented, suggesting that the form and terms of a meeting remain under negotiation.

The obstacles to security guarantees

NATO chiefs of staff met today by videoconference on Ukraine, as part of an intensive diplomatic mobilization. As it became known, they had a very good and frank discussion on the results of the recent talks on the war in Ukraine , said the chairman of the alliance's military committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. Regarding Ukraine, we confirmed our support. The priority remains a just, credible and lasting peace, he said.

The American president said he was ready to provide air support as part of security guarantees to Kiev in the event of a peace agreement, clarifying, however, that no American troops would be sent to Ukrainian territory.

They are ready to send forces on the ground, he told Fox News, referring to the leaders of France, Britain and Germany, whom he had welcomed the previous day in the Oval Office.

The Russian side is taking a hard line. Russian diplomacy, through Sergey Lavrov , warned that trying to resolve security issues without Russia is a dead end , firing shots at the European leaders who participated in the consultations in Washington. He reiterated that any summit meeting should be the culmination of a long process at the technical and negotiating level.

According to Lavrov, only a model similar to the Istanbul draft of 2022 could serve as a basis, that is, with Ukraine neutral, outside NATO, and with guarantees where Moscow would have a veto right.

Analysts, according to the WSJ, emphasize that for the Russian president the stakes go beyond Ukraine: he seeks to revise the European security architecture after the Cold War. In Putin's eyes, Ukraine is simply a battlefield between Russia and the West, commented Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

The Kremlin's distrust is also reflected in its moves in recent months: while it declares its willingness for peace in order to avoid further sanctions, it continues its military pressure on eastern Ukraine.

Some analysts, such as Samuel Charap of the Rand Corporation, believe that a direct meeting would mean admitting a sincere intention to end the war, something that Putin is not ready for.

Zelensky, for his part, appears flexible. He has dropped the demand for a ceasefire as a condition and says he is willing to meet without conditions . Kiev is exploiting Moscow's hesitation, portraying Putin as a leader afraid of dialogue.

Trump, after his own meeting with Putin in Alaska and his talks with Zelensky and seven European leaders in Washington, admitted that the conflict is difficult to resolve and did not rule out the possibility that the Russian president does not want an agreement.

We will find out in the coming weeks, he said, leaving open the possibility that he does not participate in a trilateral meeting from the outset but instead makes room for a bilateral Putin-Zelensky meeting, with the prospect of intervening later if necessary.

At the same time, Moscow has once again made clear its rejection of any scenario of sending NATO forces to Ukraine. In contrast, European leaders, although supporting the idea of direct dialogue, appear wary of Putin's real intentions.

Emmanuel Macron called the Russian president a predator and a monster at our doorstep, saying he deeply doubts whether he is sincerely seeking peace. Along the same lines, Finnish President Alexander Stubb noted that Putin can rarely be trusted.

Erdogan's Wedge for Mediation

The Turkish presidency said that Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Putin, expressing support for a lasting peace with the participation of all parties. Ankara is trying to maintain the role of mediator that it had already assumed since 2022, when it hosted negotiations.

Mobility in the field

In the field, Russia announced a new advance into eastern Ukraine, capturing the village of Novogeorhiivkain Dnipropetrovsk, near the border with the Donetsk region.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow spoke of expelling the Ukrainians from their positions, although the Ukrainian General Staff did not officially comment, while independent battle maps show the Russians 1–2 kilometers away.

The same statement spoke of strikes on fuel supply infrastructure and a drone assembly plant, while Zelensky accused Russia of attacking a gas distribution station in Odessa.