Can there be peace in Ukraine without Zelensky?

There is something morally wrong and disasteful about two nuclear superpowers rearranging the landscape of a country which haw been brutally invaded and is now fighting for its future. Arbitrarily drawing lines on the map to sort out border and territorial issues has historically been a disaster, and all the signs are that between them, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are going to redraw the borders of Ukraine to suit Moscow and not Kyiv. This is why poor old Zelensky whose army of brave souls has been fighting the Russians for more than three years will have to play a part in the Big Summit if Kyiv is going to get a word in edgeways to bring the terrible war to an end. Whatever ideas Trump and Putin talk about at their summit in Alaska on Friday, none of it will be good news for Zelensky because the reality of the situation is that Russian troops occupy large parts of eastern Ukraine as well as Crimea and they are not going to hand any of it over to Kyiv. That's the basic fact of life. But the only person who can really argue his case against such a deal is Zelensky, and if he's not there in Alaska, the Ukrainian voice will be drowned out. Unless Trump has a plan to force Putin to give Zelensky something, and I'm not talking about half a town here or a third of a village there. It will have to be something truly substantial, something he can sell to his battered country to make all the sacrifices even a tiny bit worthwhile. Without Zelensky in person - not a Zoom call - in Alaska, there is a far greater chance that the Ukrainian leader will be presented with a fait accompli. Or nothing at all. Peace may turn out to be the one word that doesn't get mentioned. A possible deal, yes. But, peace? No.