 "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) is welcomed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz upon arrival in the garden of the chancellery in Berlin to join a video conference of European leaders with the US President on the Ukraine war ahead of the summit between the US and Russian leaders, on August 13, 2025. Image- AFP")
Economist Jeffrey Sachs has blamed Washington for the nearly three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, saying the United States dragged Kyiv into the conflict and must now step aside.
The statement come just days before a high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a summit that could reshape the course of the war.
Sachs argued that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should face the reality that Trump and Putin may strike a deal, with or without Kyiv’s direct involvement. The Ukrainian leader, who has not been invited to the Alaska talks is scrambling to ensure his country’s interests are not sidelined.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy publicly criticised Washington’s silence over recent Russian strikes on Ukraine, warning that such inaction only emboldens Putin. The criticism comes amid some of the most significant Russian gains in months.
According to an AFP analysis of battlefield data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces on August 12 seized or claimed 110 square kilometres of territory in eastern Ukraine in just 24 hours, the largest single-day advance in more than a year.
Moscow’s offensive has accelerated in recent weeks, with Wednesday’s gains focused on a narrow but strategic section of the eastern front line. Ukrainian officials say the Russian military is preparing for further offensive operations, dashing hopes of an immediate de-escalation.
In a bid to influence the upcoming Trump-Putin meeting, Zelenskyy met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday, before joining French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, EU leaders and NATO chiefs for urgent online talks. They later held a second call with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, pressing for assurances that Ukraine’s sovereignty would not be compromised.
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View AllRussia’s foreign ministry dismissed the outreach as “politically and practically insignificant,” accusing Kyiv and its allies of trying to “sabotage” efforts to end the war.
With inputs from agencies