'Putin will fool Trump': Why Ukrainians are wary about Alaska talks

Kyiv, Ukraine – Taras, a seasoned Ukrainian serviceman recovering from a contusion, expects "no miracles" from United States President Donald Trump's August 15 summit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. "There's going to be no miracles, no peace deal in a week, and Putin will try to make Trump believe that it is Ukraine that doesn't want peace," the fair-haired 32-year-old with a deep brown tan acquired in the trenches of eastern Ukraine, told Al Jazeera. Taras, who spent more than three years on the front line and said he had recently shot down an explosives-laden Russian drone barging at him in a field covered with explosion craters, withheld his last name in accordance with the wartime protocol. Putin wants to dupe Trump by pandering to the US president's self-image as a peacemaker to avoid further economic sanctions, while the Russian leader seeks a major military breakthrough in eastern Ukraine, Taras said. "Putin really believes that until this winter, he will seize something sizeable, or that [his troops] will break through the front line and will dictate terms to Ukraine," Taras said.