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He brushed aside the possibility of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining the summit, something the White House . Putin has of a meeting to clinch a breakthrough.

“We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive,” Ushakov said, adding that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s suggestion of a meeting including Ukraine’s leader “was not specifically discussed.”

It was not clear how the announcement of the meeting would affect Trump’s Friday deadline for Russia to stop the killing or face .

The meeting would be the first U.S.-Russia summit since 2021, when former President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. It would be a significant milestone toward to end the war, although there’s no guarantee it would stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain .

Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organize and no date is confirmed. The possible venue will be announced “a little later,” he said.

Months of U.S.-led efforts have on stopping Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. The war has killed tens of thousands of troops on both sides as well as more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.

Western officials have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling for time in peace negotiations to allow Russian forces time to capture more Ukrainian land. Putin previously has offered no concessions and will .

A meeting between Putin and Trump on the war would be a departure from the Biden administration’s policy of “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” — a key demand from Kyiv.

At the start of his second term, Trump was conciliatory toward Putin, for whom he has long shown admiration, and even echoed some of his talking points on the war. But he recently has expressed , criticizing the Kremlin leader for his on U.S.-led peace efforts, and has threatened Moscow with new sanctions.

Zelenskyy focus

es on the details

Zelenskyy said he planned calls with European leaders Thursday to discuss the latest developments.

A ceasefire and long-term security guarantees are priorities in potential negotiation with Russia, he said on social media.

Securing a truce, deciding a format for a summit and providing assurances for Ukraine’s future protection from invasion — a consideration that must involve the U.S. and Europe — are crucial aspects to address, Zelenskyy said.

He noted that Russian strikes on civilians haven’t eased off despite Trump publicly urging Putin to relent.

A Russian attack Wednesday in the central Dnipro region killed four people and injured eight others, he said.

Poll shows support for continuing the fight waning in Ukraine

A published Thursday found that Ukrainians are increasingly eager for a settlement that ends the fight against Russia’s invasion.

The enthusiasm for a negotiated deal is a sharp reversal from 2022 — the year the war began — when Gallup found that about three-quarters of Ukrainians wanted to keep fighting until victory. Now only about one-quarter hold that view, with support for continuing the war declining steadily across all regions and demographic groups.

The findings were based on samples of 1,000 or more respondents ages 15 and older living in Ukraine. Some territories under entrenched Russian control, representing about 10% of the population, were excluded from surveys conducted after 2022 due to lack of access.

Since the start of the full-scale war, Russia’s relentless behind the front line has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. On the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line snaking from northeast to southeast Ukraine, where tens of thousands of troops on both sides have died, Russia’s bigger army is .

In the new Gallup survey, conducted in early July, about seven in 10 Ukrainians say their country should seek to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible. Zelenskyy last month renewed his offer to meet with Putin, but his overture was rebuffed.

Most Ukrainians do not expect a lasting peace anytime soon, the poll found. Only about one-quarter say it’s “very” or “somewhat” likely that active fighting will end within the next 12 months, while about seven in 10 think it’s “somewhat” or “very” unlikely that active fighting will be over in the next year.

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Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. Amelia Thomson-Deveaux contributed from Washington.

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