Russian President Vladimir Putin has just arrived in Alaska for a historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. The meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) military installation is the focus of global attention as the all-out conflict grinds on toward a fourth year. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, tentatively followed by a press conference. This is Putin’s first visit to the U.S. in a decade.
At stake is the future of two nations that have been fighting for more than a decade in a conflict that has cost tens of thousands of lives, left much of Ukraine and parts of Russia in ruins and has drawn in arms and combatants from across the world.
Trump said he wants a ceasefire “rapidly.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to be today, but I’m not going to be happy if it’s not today,” he proclaimed.
The previously planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin is now a three-on-three meeting, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Trump will be joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Notably absent is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the summit. However, Trump has frequently said the Ukrainian leader will be invited into the process later.
As Trump and Putin meet for the first time in six years, some 5,000 miles to the east, Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. That territory is the major point of contention between Moscow and Kyiv.
Putin has repeatedly stated he wants to keep that captured land – all of Crimea and large chunks of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts in Ukraine’s east and south. Crimea was annexed in 2014 while the other four regions were in 2022. In addition, Putin also wants the flow of arms to Ukraine stopped and for Kyiv to declare neutrality and end its bid to join NATO.
Zelensky, for his part, has argued that while there must be peace, there can be no deal with a land swap. There are several factors behind that, including the Ukrainian constitution preventing it and the will of the people. However, the chances of any deal occurring without this element seem extremely low. Should there be no deal, he faces the prospect of potentially curtailing the provision of advanced arms. After more than three years of backing Ukraine, plus U.S. supporting Israel, U.S. stocks of advanced weapons, especially interceptors, have eroded.
European officials have rejected Putin’s calls for Ukraine to give up the annexed territories, demanding an immediate ceasefire from Moscow and potentially eventual NATO membership for Kyiv.
“The counter-offer demands rock-solid security guarantees for Ukraine — namely the long-coveted membership in NATO for the war-torn country before any territorial concessions,” sources familiar with the talks told The New York Post.
All the while, Russia is pressing forward across the 600-mile front lines, slowly chewing up territory. While it comes at a tremendous cost in manpower and equipment, a first step to peace would be a ceasefire that freezes the fighting where it is.
In addition to ongoing fighting at the front, Russia continues bombarding Ukrainian cities while Kyiv hits back with strikes on Russian refineries and weapons supplies.
It is against this seemingly intractable backdrop that Trump has been downplaying expectations for today’s tete-a-tete.
“President Trump has spent the week setting the bar extremely low for his high-stakes U.S.-Russian summit on Friday in Alaska,” The New York Times noted. “Hardly anyone expects him to make much progress in halting the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, given how far apart their views of the conflict are.”
Russia, too, is tamping down expectations.
While it would be a “mistake” to predict the outcome of the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that there are no plans for the two leaders to formalize any agreements.
“No document is expected to be signed, and nothing has been prepared. It’s hardly possible that any document could emerge here,” Peskov said. “President Putin and President Trump are ready to talk and will discuss the most difficult issues,” Peskov added.
As for Trump, after initially playing down the summit as a “feel-out meeting,” he more recently has said he would urge Putin to accept a cease-fire in Ukraine, seeking to jump-start long-stalled negotiations.
“Neither the White House nor the Kremlin has publicly stated what kind of peace deal they are looking for,” The New York Times explained. “But Mr. Trump has said it could involve ‘some land-swapping,’ something he feels he is well equipped to negotiate as a onetime New York property developer.”
Asked by reporters on the flight to Alaska whether land swaps are on the table, Trump answered in the affirmative.
“They’ll be discussed, but I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision,” he explained. “I think they’ll make a proper decision, but I’m not here to negotiate for Ukraine.”
The American leader has used increased economic sanctions against Russia as a cudgel to nudge Putin toward a ceasefire, threatening “severe economic consequences” against Russia if Putin doesn’t show interest in ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine today.
“Economically severe,” he told reporters. “Yes. It will be very severe. I’m not doing this for my health, okay? I don’t need it. I’d like to focus on our country, but I’m doing this to save a lot of lives.”
“We’re going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska, and I think it’s going to work out very well — and if it doesn’t, I’m going to head back home real fast,” Trump told Fox News.
We may know more about the results of this meeting in the coming hours. Meanwhile, people in Ukraine are wary.
“I have a tense feeling about it,” Capt. Artem Kulachevich, 40, a drone commander in the 82nd Brigade, told The Washington Post when asked about the summit. Any deal to end the war, he added, must “not leave us lowering our eyes when we see war widows. In 10 years, we must be able to explain it to our kids and not be ashamed.”
To call this meeting high stakes, regardless of the expectations, would be an understatement. If things were to go dramatically south during the talks, the tensions between the U.S. and Russia, as well as the situation for Ukraine and NATO, could enter a new perilous phase. On the other hand, if there is a breakthrough, it could be the biggest step toward ending the war since it began.
This is a developing story.
Update: 3:26 PM Eastern –
Trump greeted Putin on the red carpet ahead of their meeting.
Update: 3:39 PM Eastern –
The two leaders headed to the meeting location in the U.S. presidential limo known as the “Beast.” You can read more about that vehicle in our story about it here.
As the participants sat down to meet, Putin declined to answer questions, including whether he would stop killing civilians, shouted at him by reporters.
Update 4:34 PM Eastern –
Putin raised eyebrows with his facial expressions at the start of the meeting.
Update 5:35 PM Eastern –
A U.S. official has now confirmed to TWZ that two B-2 bombers were among the assets arrayed at JBER for the Trump-Putin summit.
“One was there to participate in [a] flyover today, the other is there as a static on the flightline,” they said. “Both are there directly in support of the visit.”
The B-2s are not taking part in Exercise Northern Edge 2025, a second U.S. official further told us. You can read more about the particular significance of the B-2’s presence at JBER in our separate reporting here.
F-35 fighters also flew over the base around Trump and Putin’s arrival, including as part of the flyover alongside the B-2. F-22 fighters, as well as AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, were also on display on the ground.
Update: 7:19 PM Eastern –
After their meeting concluded, Trump and Putin held a short press conference. No announcements were made and no questions were taken.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com