U. S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed potential scenarios for a Ukraine settlement in an interview with Fox News, emphasizing that any resolution would require concessions from both sides.

Hegseth said that territorial exchanges could be part of the negotiations and stressed that «nobody will be happy» with the outcome. When asked if he was concerned about setting a precedent by trading land, he responded that this was «not a war started by Trump» and placed responsibility for the conflict on previous U.S. administrations. He singled out former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for what he described as weak leadership.

On August 11, President Donald Trump, ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated that he planned to ask Putin to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end.

According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the two leaders are set to meet on August 15 in Alaska, with the primary agenda focused on finding long-term peace solutions for the Ukrainian crisis.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that reclaiming territories now under Russian control by military means was no longer feasible. As The Telegraph reported, Kyiv is increasingly considering the need to pursue diplomatic options.