Putin aims to destroy Ukraine, not just take land, Zelenskyy's aide says

“The annexation of territories is not Putin’s ultimate goal. He does not accept the very existence of Ukraine. Putin wants us to disappear as a state,” Podolyak said.

The Russian leader seeks to strip Ukraine of its military, foreign policy, and voice, turning it into a Russified appendage of his empire.

“his is why any talk of Moscow’s “minimum demands” is meaningless because there are only maximum demands,” said Podolyak.

He argued that the Kremlin will not stop until it faces a strategic defeat that renders war unsustainable. Any other ceasefire would be a pause on Moscow’s terms, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s aide warned.

“This would destroy international law,” Podolyak added.

“The world would receive a dangerous signal: for a smaller crime you get sanctioned, for a bigger one sanctions are lifted. The global security system would collapse and war would become a universal method of settling disputes.”

He stressed that sustainable peace requires making the Kremlin fear new attacks.

Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska

On the evening of Aug. 8, Trump announced a planned meeting with Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, calling it a “significant event in U.S.-Russia bilateral relations.”

The U.S. president also said he would discuss Russia’s war against Ukraine with Putin, and that his settlement plan involves a territorial swap under which Kyiv would regain part of its land but would allegedly be forced to give up other areas. Multiple media outlets reported this referred to ceding Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts to Russia.

Politico reported that the White House proposed freezing the war along the current front line in Kherson and Zaporizhzhya oblasts in exchange for handing Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to Russia.

CBS News later wrote that Ukraine’s president would likely take part “in some form” in the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska.

On Aug. 9, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainians would not give up land to occupiers and that the territorial issue is in Ukraine’s Constitution, which no one will violate.

He also stressed that Russia is pushing the idea of trading Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, which would only secure more favorable positions for the aggressor to resume the war.

On Aug. 10, CNN reported that the White House has not ruled out the possibility of Zelenskyy being in Alaska during the Trump-Putin meeting.

On Aug. 11, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News: “On the negotiating side, there could be land swaps. There's going to be concessions. No one's going to be happy, but if anybody can do it, it's going to be President Trump.”