U.S. Vice President JD Vance has reinforced President Donald Trump’s reputation as a dealmaker with the impending meeting between the U.S. President and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week.

Vance is reportedly in the UK meeting with Zelenskyy, being hosted by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Prior to departing Washington for the trip, Vance gave an interview on Fox News that aired Sunday, in which he expressed to host Maria Bartiromo that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would be unproductive without Trump’s involvement.

‘I believe it is essential for the U.S. President to facilitate a meeting between these two leaders. Naturally, we will communicate with the Ukrainians. In fact, I spoke with them this morning. Marco has also been engaging with them extensively. We intend to keep the conversation ongoing,’ Vance stated, highlighting the intricate balancing act the U.S. is currently navigating in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Vance then added that ‘fundamentally, this is something where the President needs to force President Putin and President Zelenskyy to really sit down to figure out their differences.’

US President Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth social media platform that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15.

‘The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,’ Trump wrote. ‘Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President has warned that ‘decisions without Ukraine’ would not bring peace to the region.

 Zelensky has ruled out ceding any territory to Russia as Putin continued his offensive last Friday, killing four civilians and wounding 10.

Writing on social media, the Ukrainian President said: ‘Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing.

‘Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.’

He said Ukraine was ‘ready for real decisions that can bring peace’ but added it should be a ‘dignified peace’, without giving details.

A Downing Street spokesperson said that Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky both agreed that the meeting between Vance, Lammy, and the Ukrainian would be a ‘vital forum to discuss progress towards securing a just and lasting peace’.

‘Both leaders welcomed President Trump’s desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and agreed that we must keep up the pressure on Putin to end his illegal war,’ the spokesperson added.

Vance publicly dressed down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not being respectful enough to President Donald Trump during a dramatic Oval Office meeting at the White House back in February.

 At the time, the vice president launched into attack mode after he felt Trump was being disrespected by the Ukrainian president.

‘Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,’ Vance said after Zelensky repeatedly interrupted and disputed statements made by Trump.

A source familiar with the meeting at the White House told DailyMail.com at the time that Zelensky’s demeanor was surprising to American officials in the room.

‘No one expected the meeting to play out as it did, because nobody expected [him] to act that way,’ the source said.

Vance noted that Biden stood up for four years and ‘talked tough’ while ‘thumping his chest’ but Putin invaded Ukraine anyway.

‘The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy,’ he said back in February.