Zelenskyy to meet Trump in Washington on Monday following 'no deal' Alaska peace summit

In a statement posted to social media on Saturday, Zelenskyy said "Ukraine reaffirms its readiness" to forge a ceasefire deal, voicing his desire for a "trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia".

Mr Zelenskyy said that he and the US president had spoken over the phone following the summit - discussions that lasted more than an hour-and-a-half.

The meeting comes hours after Mr Trump and Mr Putin met in Alaska to discuss a possible ceasefire deal in Ukraine, with the US President branding the made-for-tv discussions "very productive".

Days of anticipation leading up to the summit, which saw Trump fail to secure his desired ceasefire deal, ultimately produced an anti-climactic end to proceedings, with both parties walking away empty handed.

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For many, word of Mr Zelenskyy's forthcoming meeting with Mr Trump on US soil will conjure images of the pair's last White House showdown, described by many as an "ambush".

It comes as Mr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Russia is "still killing" Ukrainians in strikes across the country - just hours before Trump and Putin's face-to-face meeting.

In a press conference late on Friday following three hours of talks in Alaska, Mr Trump said "great progress had been made" between the US and Russia.

Putin had initially suggested negotiations could last as long as seven or eight hours - a time frame the US President appeared to dismiss, after discussions came to an end in under half that time.

The US President added that "there were many, many points that we agreed on."

"I would say a couple of big ones, but we haven't quite got there, we've made some headway," Mr Trump continued, adding: "There's no deal until there's a deal."

In a message to Telegram that he is hearing of "deliberate Russian strikes" in Sumy, the Dnipro region, Zaporizhzhia, the Kherson region, and the Donetsk region.

"The war continues," he said.

"It continues precisely because there is not only an order, but also signals about Moscow's preparation to end this war.

"On the day of the negotiations, they are also killing. And this says a lot."

During Friday's summit, Mr Trump remained uncharacteristically quiet ahead of discussions, with Mr Putin speaking first during the post-talk press conference.

The Russian leader suggested negotiations were "held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect" and thanked his US counterpart for proposing the Alaska summit.

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Mr Putin reiterated that for "lasting" peace in Ukraine, both parties need to eliminate "the primary causes of the conflict" and address Russia's "legitimate conflict".

However, the Russian leader failed to outline specifics beyond this - leading many to assume that Mr Putin's desire remains to bring Ukraine back under Russian control.

Despite the optics of the three-on-three meeting appearing promising - Mr Trump was joined by real estate investor-turned-foreign envoy Steve Wintkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio - the previously promised end the Ukraine war seemed a distant dream.

The pair ended the conference without speaking to any reporters in attendance.Mr Trump turned to Mr Putin at the end and said: "We'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon."

On Friday, Media outlet Ukrainska Pravda said Russian forces launched a strike on the heart of the city of Sumy, causing a fire.

Oleh Hryhorov, the head of Sumy Oblast Military Administration, said: "The enemy targeted civilian infrastructure in the central part of the Sumy hromada.

"A fire has broken out at the site of the strike. Emergency services are working at the scene."

He did not specify which weapons were used and information about casualties is in the process of being gathered.

Russia's defence ministry has denied attacking a market in central Sumy.

The country's state-run news agency RIA Novosti has said Ukraine is blaming Russia for the attack as a means of disrupting the US-Russia summit in Alaska, which is taking place later today.

It comes as Mr Trump boarded Air Force One this morning, telling reporters that the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, could set up a second summit where a peace deal could be hammered out.

Mr Zelenskyy would attend that hypothetical meeting, along with other European leaders, but the Ukrainian president will not be present in Alaska on Friday.

Mr Trump has previously warned Mr Putin will face "severe consequences" if he rejects the possibility of peace in Ukraine.

"Economically severe, yes, it will be very severe. I'm not doing this for my health. I'd like to focus on our country, but I'm doing this to save a lot of lives, yes, very severe," Mr Trump added.