Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking to ABC News on Sept. 5, 2025 from a damaged American-owned factory in western Ukraine, said President Trump’s recent summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska effectively gave the Russian leader a public victory — comments that arrived days before a massive Russian drone-and-missile barrage that struck across Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy told ABC News he believes the Alaska meeting delivered a diplomatic win to Putin by publicly fulfilling the Russian leader’s desire to meet a U.S. president.
- The interview aired days prior to Russia launching over 800 drones and other munitions in attacks that Ukrainian officials described as a record assault.
- Those strikes hit Kyiv and other regions, leaving at least eight civilians dead and 59 injured, according to Ukrainian authorities.
- Zelenskyy ruled out traveling to Moscow while Russia continues its attacks and said any summit should not take place on Russian soil.
- He urged stronger U.S. and European pressure on Russia, including stopping purchases of Russian oil and gas as part of wider sanctions.
- Zelenskyy reiterated that lasting security guarantees for Ukraine must be rooted in Ukraine’s own armed forces.
Verified Facts
The interview with ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz was recorded on Sept. 5, 2025 and broadcast on ABC’s “This Week” on Sept. 7, 2025. In it, Zelenskyy criticized the Alaska summit between Presidents Trump and Putin, saying the meeting gave Putin what he wanted — public recognition and imagery of meeting a U.S. president.
Days after the interview, Ukrainian officials reported that Russia launched more than 800 drones and assorted munitions overnight into Sept. 7, 2025. Ukraine’s Air Force described the operation as a record attack. Ukrainian government updates put civilian fatalities at at least eight and injuries at 59 across the country, with damage to government and civilian infrastructure including a Kyiv cabinet building.
Zelenskyy pushed back on proposals that he travel to Moscow for direct talks while his country remains under attack, saying he would accept meetings outside Russia and that any Russian demand to host talks in Moscow was effectively a tactic to postpone or shape negotiations on Moscow’s terms. He repeated a prior offer to meet bilaterally or in formats that do not require travel to Russian territory.
On security guarantees, Zelenskyy emphasized that long-term guarantees must rely on Ukraine’s own military capacity and credible commitments from allies. He singled out continued European purchases of Russian energy as a vulnerability that sustains Russia’s war economy and called for an end to such imports as part of pressure tactics.
Context & Impact
The Alaska meeting comes amid repeated international efforts to broker or at least open channels for talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Former President Trump has repeatedly advocated for a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy and set public deadlines for talks; those deadlines have passed without a summit taking place.
Ukraine’s appeal for harsher sanctions and an energy embargo responds to Moscow’s reliance on fossil-fuel revenue to finance military operations. Analysts say cutting energy purchases would increase pressure but would require coordinated action by major importers to be effective.
Operationally, the scale of the reported Sept. 7 strikes — over 800 drones and munitions — reflects a persistent escalation in Russia’s campaign of long-range attacks on both military and civilian targets. That pressure complicates diplomatic timelines and raises the stakes for any negotiated pause or settlement.
- Diplomatic optics: A high-profile meeting with a U.S. president can bolster a leader’s international standing regardless of concrete policy outcomes.
- Sanctions leverage: Secondary measures such as energy embargoes carry economic and political costs that allies must weigh.
Official Statements
“He can come to Kyiv,”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (interview with ABC News)
Unconfirmed
- Whether the Alaska meeting changed any concrete U.S.-Russia policy or produced behind-the-scenes concessions remains unclear.
- Putin’s precise motives for seeking a public meeting with a U.S. president are inferred from Zelenskyy’s remarks and are not independently confirmed here.
- Any immediate plan for new, coordinated European energy sanctions tied directly to the Sept. 7 strikes had not been announced at the time of the interview.
Bottom Line
Zelenskyy framed the Alaska summit as a symbolic win for Putin that risks undermining Ukraine’s diplomatic position while the war continues. He called for stronger, coordinated pressure on Russia — especially cutting energy revenue — and insisted that any high-level talks must not reward coercion or require Ukrainian leaders to meet on Russian soil.