The French newspaper Le Figaro focused on the upcoming second summit between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, attended by several European leaders, which it described as “improvised.” The discussion will cover the results of the heated meeting in Alaska between the US and Russian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, possibly before a third summit next Friday called by Trump but not yet accepted by the Kremlin in principle.

The newspaper’s editorial by Philippe Gélie on Monday stated that amid this diplomatic enthusiasm, the Russian president is advancing methodically against Trump, whom it described as “confused and wavering.” Putin managed to get exactly what he came for, not only courtesy and equal treatment—which frees him from being an “international outcast”—but also pushed Trump to abandon his demand for a ceasefire, preferring a “quick peace agreement.”

The newspaper mentioned that Putin also immediately put the issue of territories on the table and received from Trump an offer similar to one previously made: Kyiv abandoning the entire Donbas region in exchange for freezing fighting along the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, with limited withdrawals from Kharkiv and Sumy.

It added that the US mediator was not “naive” enough to accept this deal on behalf of the Ukrainians but at the same time would encourage them to “seize it” because they “are not a great power.”

The author predicted that Zelensky would clarify during today’s summit that the part Moscow demands in the Donetsk area is the most fortified in Ukraine, having resisted Russian advances for three and a half years, and that abandoning it would put the entire country in a very weak position.

The newspaper touched on the security guarantees Trump demanded for Ukraine, which the Russian president expressed readiness to work on but indicated a preference for Chinese guarantors in this matter.

The editorial concluded by saying, “Vladimir Putin waved before Donald Trump a deal that seems easy to obtain… As for the other stages of his plan, including regime change in Kyiv, disarming the country, its neutrality, and staying out of NATO and the EU, they have been postponed to a later time… which essentially indicates guarantees for Kyiv’s renewed and permanent submission to Russia.” It confirmed, “Putin knows well his destination, but does Trump know it?”