The Kyiv Independent

Recording: Where are we at after Alaska? Q&A with deputy chief editor Oleksiy Sorokin and reporter Francis Farrell (Patreon)

Published:

2025-08-25 09:57:39

Imported:

2026-09

Content

Dear Kyiv Independent community members,

Last week, we had a Q&A with our deputy chief editor Oleksiy Sorokin and reporter Francis Farrell about where we’re at after the Alaska Summit.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Q&A and those who sent in their questions — we’re here to answer your questions and help you make sense of the current headlines and a constantly changing news cycle.

Oleksiy and Francis discussed what the Trump-Putin meeting means for “peace talks” and the direction Russia’s war can take. Francis also discussed the current state of the battlefield after Russian forces pierced the front line near Dobropillia earlier in August, as he joined the Q&A from eastern Ukraine.

You can watch the recording here. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the next Q&A.

Files

What now after Alaska? Q&A with deputy chief editor Oleksiy Sorokin and reporter Francis Farrell

Vladimir Putin met Donald Trump in Alaska to discuss a peace plan that would see Ukraine surrendering unoccupied territories to Russia. Putin continues to demand an official recognition of Crimea as a Russian territory and Ukraine's complete withdrawal from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts — a proposal that has been met with outrage in Ukraine. As a result President Volodymyr Zelensky, together with a number of European leaders, has traveled to Washington to try and persuade the American president to side with them and not Putin. Deputy chief editor Oleksiy Sorokin and reporter Francis Farrell discuss the "Alaska peace plan" and the outcome of Trump's meetings with Putin and Zelensky. They answer your questions about what a just end to the war might look like, what might happen next, and what these talks mean for recent developments on the front line, as Russia has recently pierced Ukrainian defenses near Dobropillia.