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Putin and Trump will meet in Alaska.

KIEV, BRATISLAVA. Donald Trump will demand a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine from Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint meeting, European leaders said after a phone call with the US president on Wednesday.

Led by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, they have the same goal, but they want to achieve an end to the fighting with different demands.

Ukraine is stressing ahead of Friday's highly-watched summit in Alaska that it will not be able to agree to the terms that Trump and Putin negotiate without its leadership. But it has come up with its own list.

European leaders struck an optimistic tone after the phone call, saying Trump is on their side. Ukraine, however, is skeptical that Russia is committed to peace.

"There is absolutely no indication that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation. On the contrary, they are moving their units and forces in a way that suggests preparations for new offensive operations. If they were preparing for peace, they would not be doing this," Zelenskyy said in a video on his social media earlier this week.

Disputed territory

The topic that is causing the greatest concern in Europe is the handover of occupied territory to Russia. Trump said before the summit that there could be a"mutually beneficial" exchange of territory - but what he meant by that is not yet clear.

But Putin has a long-standing interest in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, where his troops occupy a significant portion, and there is a consensus among experts that Trump could propose a swap of the eastern parts for the release of parts of southern Ukraine that Moscow currently controls.

Donbas consists of the Luhansk region, which the Kremlin currently controls almost entirely, and the Donetsk region, where it occupies roughly two-thirds of the territory.

However, Zelensky rules out such a possibility. He argues that if he hands over Donbas to Putin, it will not stop the war - on the contrary, Russia will use the acquired territory to launch another offensive.

"Putin does not want a sovereign Ukraine to exist. And that is the whole ultimate strategy," Zelensky added, saying that the Russian president is seeking the destruction of his country instead of peace.