Zelenskyy on Trump-Putin summit: "Talks about us, without us, will not work" for Ukraine

Russia has signaled to the U.S. that it may be willing to end the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday.

"We had a call with President Trump and with some European leaders. During the call, there was a signal from Mr. Witkoff, who was also on the call, that Russia is ready to end the war — ready for a first step, at least, toward a ceasefire," Zelenskyy said, referencing U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. "And that this is the first such signal from them."

However, Zelenskyy also warned that "talks about us, without us, will not work," ahead of President Trump's one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska scheduled for Friday.

The call involving Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump and Witkoff took place last week, a spokesperson for Zelenskyy's office told CBS News Tuesday.

While Zelenskyy said "everyone on the call" was encouraged by what was viewed as a "shift" in Russia's position, the Ukrainian leader said Ukraine will not, under any circumstances, withdraw its forces from the Russian-occupied Donbas region in the east of Ukraine.

"Our territories are illegally occupied. For the Russians, Donbas is a springboard for a future new offensive. If we leave Donbas of our own accord or under pressure, we will invite a third war," Zelenskyy said.

The summit between Mr. Trump and Putin is the first in-person meeting between Putin and a sitting U.S. president since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.

The meeting will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, on the northern edge of Anchorage, a senior White House official told CBS News on Tuesday. Given that it is peak tourist season in Alaska, there were few viable options to host the talks. Possible venues for the high-stakes meeting also needed to meet security requirements.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier Tuesday that the mechanics of the meeting were "still being ironed out."

Leavitt described the meeting as "a listening exercise for the president."

"Only one party that's involved in this war is going to be present, and so this is for the president to go and to get, again, a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end," Leavitt said.

It is widely expected that Putin will demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from all parts of Ukraine's Donbas region —parts of which Russian forces held since the country's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the area under Russian occupation has increased, though Ukrainian forces do currently hold territory in parts of Donetsk, a province located within the Donbas.

Ahead of Mr. Trump's meeting with Putin, a spokesperson for Zelenskyy's office has confirmed to CBS News that he will attend a virtual meeting Wednesday with Mr. Trump and European leaders to discuss the war.

Speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room Monday, Mr. Trump expressed optimism that his meeting with Putin will be "constructive," and said that he is planning to establish an in-person meeting involving Putin and Zelenskyy.

"The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin or Zelenskyy and Putin and me," Mr. Trump said.

Two sources familiar with those negotiations told CBS News Tuesday that the U.S. is working on a site for a Trump-Putin-Zelenskyy meeting as soon as the end of next week.

But Zelenskyy was adamant in his remarks Tuesday that no such meeting should take place without the involvement of European leaders.

"The presence of Europe in one form or another is very important, because ultimately, so far, no one but Europe has provided us with security guarantees," he said.

As for Mr. Trump's meeting with Putin in Alaska, Zelenskyy said that the meeting would only benefit one person— the Russian leader.

"I believe that Putin will benefit from this, because what he is seeking, frankly, is photographs. He needs a photo from a meeting with President Trump," Zelenskyy said. "Ukrainian issues should be discussed by at least three parties."

Weijia Jiang and Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.

• Ukraine
• Russia
• Trump Administration
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy