Trump-Putin Summit: What are Ukrainians expecting?
Ukrainecast
BBC
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 August 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are due to meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday, in what is arguably the most significant diplomatic development since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ahead of the summit, the American president confirmed reports that his administration is preparing a peace proposal involving territory swaps, despite Ukraine's insistence that it will not accept any changes to its recognised borders. So, without the buy-in of Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies, can any concrete developments emerge from bilateral discussions between Washington and Moscow?
This week, Victoria and Vitaly consider why Alaska has been selected to host the talks, and what might actually be on the table. Plus, we're joined by two Ukrainians from the north-eastern Kharkiv region - Logan who is a soldier, and Nataliya who is a war crimes investigator. After new polling showed a significant majority of Ukrainians now back the pursuit of a peace deal, they give us their perspective on Trump and Putin's plans.
Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko. The producer was Laurie Kalus. The technical producer was Jack Graysmark. The social producer was Sophie Millward. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480
You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, it's 1,2606 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. |
| 0:11.0 | And this coming Friday, for the first time since that day, a US president will sit down face-to-face with Vladimir Putin. |
| 0:20.8 | So I'm going in to speak to Vladimir Putin |
| 0:24.5 | and I'm going to be telling him you've got to end this war. You've got to end it. Donald Trump is going to |
| 0:30.0 | meet the Russian leader in Alaska to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. As we record on Tuesday afternoon, |
| 0:39.3 | it looks like President Zelensky will not be there. Now, we have said this so many times on this podcast before, but we're |
| 0:45.1 | going to say it again. Could this be a pivotal moment in bringing this conflict to a conclusion? |
| 0:51.1 | Are we really on some kind of pathway to enduring peace? Is anything concrete likely |
| 0:58.2 | to come out of this meeting? And crucially, what do those people directly affected by these |
| 1:03.0 | talks? People who live in Ukraine think of this latest development. So much to discuss in today's |
| 1:09.0 | Ukraine cast. Ukraine cast from BBC News. |
| 1:12.7 | Life is not safe in Ukraine. |
| 1:14.9 | No, we're in Ukraine. |
| 1:15.7 | We've had three years of bloody conflict now. |
| 1:17.7 | We need to get to that lasting peace. |
| 1:19.8 | We hope we can finish this war this year. |
| 1:22.9 | President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker. |
| 1:27.0 | Biden will just enemy. Trump is arrival. |
| 1:29.8 | Ukrainians will pay lives for this decision. |
| 1:32.0 | You're gambling with World War III. |
| 1:35.2 | Hello, this is Victoria Derbyshire in the Ukrainecast studio. |
| 1:38.0 | And this is Vitaly Shepchenko, also in the Ukraine Car Studio. |
... |
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