President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Berlin on Aug. 13 to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before talks with U.S. and European leaders, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said, according to Ukrinform.
The two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting before joining a video conference with European leaders, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and U.S. President Donald Trump, the spokesperson said.
The German government said the call between Zelensky, Trump, and European leaders is expected to take place at 2 p.m. local time, according to Reuters. A separate call with Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and European leaders is expected an hour later, according to the news agency.
The talks will take place just two days before Trump's planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the start of Trump's second term.
Trump has described the Alaska talks as a "feel-out" meeting in his efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. He has said both Kyiv and Moscow would need to cede territory to reach a deal, a stance that has alarmed European capitals and Kyiv.
An undisclosed source familiar with U.S. deliberations told Reuters that it is possible that Trump might attempt to strike a deal directly with Putin without involving Ukraine or Europe.
In a press conference on Aug. 11, Trump confirmed Zelensky would not attend the Alaska meeting with Putin, saying "he wasn't part of it." Trump added that he ultimately intends to bring the Ukrainian and Russian presidents together, either with him present or not.
Putin has publicly demanded a ban on Ukraine's NATO membership and a full withdrawal from partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as a precondition for talks.
Zelensky has rejected recognizing the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory and ceding additional land, calling for a ceasefire as the first step toward peace negotiations, a position supported by Kyiv's European allies.
Zelensky's spokesperson also said an online meeting of the "coalition of the willing" will take place later in the day. According to the German government, the meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. local time and will focus on support plans for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
According to Reuters, the sequence of talks on Aug. 13 will give Zelensky and European leaders a chance to present a united front before Trump's meeting with Putin. Ukraine hopes the call with Trump will serve, at least in part, as a counterweight to the Alaska summit.
Five undisclosed senior European officials told Reuters that they "see a risk" of an unfavourable deal for Europe and Ukraine's security at the Aug. 15 meeting.
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