Good morning. On Friday, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Alaska to discuss the future of Ukraine, but there was no deal reached and no big questions answered. Trump appeared deferential to the Russian leader and now backs plans to hand over Ukrainian territory as part of a peace deal. Today he will meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders.
In discussions about what a peace settlement would look like, “land swaps” were represented as simple transactions. The fate of people appeared to be a casual afterthought. Trump and Putin are eager to embrace the idea that territory can be bought and sold like real estate, but Guardian reporting exposes the devastating part of this war: human loss.
Last month casualties hit a three-year high, with more Ukrainian civilians killed than in any month since May 2022. Our writers have been documenting the escalating human cost of this war – whole communities eradicated, schools shut, and people in towns near fighting exhausted by sleepless nights.
For today’s newsletter, I spoke to our senior international correspondent, Luke Harding, who has just returned from four weeks in Ukraine, about what morale is like in these once tranquil villages now on the frontlines – and whether the Alaska summit changes anything for Ukraine. That’s after the headlines.
Highlights from the news:
- Gaza: Palestinians were gripped by fear and anxiety on Sunday after the Israeli military said it was preparing for the forcible displacement of a million people from Gaza City. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war in Gaza.
Scotland: The UK’s first transgender judge has launched a case against the UK in the European court of human rights challenging the process that led to the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.
Business: The bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies took home record high pay packets for the third successive year, according to a report. Analysis found that the record set in the last financial year means the average FTSE 100 chief executive is now paid 122 times the salary of the average full-time UK worker.
US news: Three people were killed and eight others wounded when multiple gunmen opened fire inside a crowded Brooklyn hookah lounge and restaurant early on Sunday morning, according to authorities.
Weather: Hurricane Erin was downgraded to category 3 early on Sunday as its outer bands continued to lash the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico with heavy rains and tropical storm force winds.
In-depth articles:
“Entire communities are being erased”: Luke Harding has been reporting from the Dnipropetrovsk region, which the Russians have penetrated for the first time in war. An evacuation charity has been rescuing elderly and sick people from frontline villages swallowed up by fighting – they are usually the last to leave.
“What does the future hold for Ukrainians?”: European leaders will join Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the White House meeting with Donald Trump in an effort to push back on a US-endorsed “peace plan.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/18/monday-briefing-whats-at-stake-for-ukrainians-as-trump-and-putin-talk-of-ceding-land-in-return-for-peace
