Will Putin agree to a one-on-one meeting with Zelensky this time? In May, he first initiated such a meeting, before withdrawing.

Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk with drones on Tuesday night, the mayor told Reuters. He believes it is a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace.

The attack came just hours after a summit in Washington, where US President Donald Trump met with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump said the Americans would play a coordinating role in getting Ukraine security guarantees.

Trump writes on social media that he called Putin to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. According to Trump, this will then be a three-party meeting: himself, Zelensky, and Putin. The goal is a peace agreement.

The mayor of Kremenchuk reacts to the fact that while Putin assures Trump that he wants peace, the Russian president orders another massive attack on the city.

“Once again, the world has seen that Putin does not want peace – he wants to destroy Ukraine,” said Mayor Vitalii Maletskyj on Telegram, according to Reuters.

Claims Zelensky will meet Putin in Hungary

A meeting between Zelensky and Putin is set to take place in Hungary within the next two weeks, according to US sources. This will be followed by a meeting in which Trump will also be present.

I called Putin and started by setting up a meeting, at a location yet to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky. After that meeting takes place, we will have a three-party meeting, which will be the two Presidents and myself, Trump wrote on Truth Social late Tuesday.

Trump told the European leaders that it was Putin who suggested the order of the meetings, a source in the European delegation told Reuters.

The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed any agreement on the meetings. The Putin-Zelensky meeting will take place in Hungary, a senior US official told Reuters. They will meet within two weeks, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Lavrov: Must be prepared thoroughly

It is not clear whether the Russians agree with the Americans. Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said in a statement that Putin and Trump had a frank and very constructive phone conversation about Trump's meeting with Zelensky and the European leaders.

In a diplomatic context, the expression frankly is often a signal that the two parties do not agree on everything.

According to Ushakov, the Russian and American leaders have agreed to appoint more senior negotiators for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine. He did not say whether Putin himself would participate.

“Any contact involving national leaders must be prepared with the utmost thoroughness,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the state-owned Rossiya-24 television channel.

Putin claimed earlier this year that Zelensky has no legitimacy to sign an agreement with Russia.

In May, Putin proposed a meeting between himself and Zelensky in Istanbul. But after Zelensky agreed to the meeting, Putin reversed course. He instead sent a delegation of lower-ranking officials, which meant that Zelensky did not come to Istanbul either.

The two countries agreed on the exchange of prisoners. Nothing else was agreed upon.

Trump vague about security guarantees

A main topic of the summit in Washington was what security guarantees Ukraine could receive as part of a peace agreement.

Trump writes on social media that he and the European leaders discussed security guarantees for Ukraine and what guarantees should be made available by various European countries, in coordination with the United States.

The word coordination may signal that the European countries must take the main responsibility, while Trump envisions a less significant role for the United States.

In the Oval Office, Trump was asked by a reporter whether the United States would send American troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force. Trump did not answer the question directly, but said the United States would help.

“We will be involved,” Trump said.

On Monday, the Kremlin insisted that it considers foreign forces in Ukraine unacceptable.

This contrasts with how Trump's people have described the Russian position. In any case, it is new that the United States is also speaking enthusiastically in favor of such a guarantee.

After the meeting, several of the European leaders said that the details of a guarantee could be ready within one to two weeks.