Donald Trump has said he will meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The US president declared on Truth Social: “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.
“Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
This follows difficulty arranging a potential meeting place with the Russian leader, who faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in March 2023.
Earlier, Mr Putin said the UAE would be an "entirely suitable" venue for the meeting but stopped short of confirming it would be the host.
This came hours after Mr Trump said he would meet Putin even if the Russian leader refused to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Trump, when asked whether Mr Putin would need to meet Mr Zelensky to secure a summit with the US, said: “No, he doesn't. No.”
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Key Points
- Trump to meet Putin in Alaska next Friday
- Zelensky pushes for Europe's greater role in peace talks
- Putin told Witkoff he would agree to ceasefire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw forces from Donetsk - Report
- Russia says Trump and Putin may meet next week but not aware of any Zelensky meeting
- Trump says 'good chance' Putin will agree to summit
Trump and Putin’s phone calls last for hours because of Russian president’s ‘monologues,’ report says
06:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
President Donald Trump’s phone calls with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, often last for hours because of the Kremlin’s leader’s penchant for launching into long, grievance-based monologues, according to a new report.
Trump is currently seeking an in-person meeting with Putin in an attempt to thrash out an end to the war in Ukraine, which the president pledged to wrap up within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January.
Trump and Putin have held “multiple calls and passed numerous messages through intermediaries” of late, according to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Trump confirms meet with Putin is not conditional on Putin-Zelensky talks
06:15
,
Shahana Yasmin
Ukraine buries journalist who died in Russian captivity
06:00
,
Shahana Yasmin
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died while in Russian captivity last year, was laid to rest in Kyiv on Friday, as colleagues and press groups called for greater international pressure to free other Ukrainian reporters held by Moscow.
Hundreds gathered in central Kyiv to honour Roshchyna, 27, whose early frontline reporting offered rare insights into life under Russian occupation.
“It is very sad... it is really about losing a professional who was braver than any of us," journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk told Reuters. “We pay tribute while there are still other Ukrainian reporters behind bars, and with what has happened to her, it is our duty not to stop.”
Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 during a reporting trip in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Her body was identified among remains handed back to Ukraine this year. Prosecutors said signs of injury and possible torture were found, though the exact cause of death remains unknown.
Inside Ukraine’s effort to produce more of its own weapons to fight Putin as Trump’s support flip-flops
05:45
,
Shahana Yasmin
Askold Krushelnycky examines how Donald Trump’s fluctuating position on the Ukraine war has encouraged Kyiv to look closer to home to produce the weapons it needs to fight Russia
Zelensky’s aide joins talks with Western security advisers on Ukraine peace
05:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, said he took part in an online meeting yesterday with national security advisers from the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and Nato representatives.
In a post on X, Yermak said the group discussed ways to achieve a “sustainable and just peace for Ukraine as soon as possible”.
Held an online conversation with national security advisors from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and representatives of NATO.
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) August 8, 2025
We focused on coordinating positions to bring a sustainable and just peace for Ukraine as soon as possible. We…
Pictured: Fighting continues in Zaporizhzhia, Pokrovsk
05:15
,
Shahana Yasmin
Putin speaks with key allies ahead of Trump meeting
05:00
,
Shahana Yasmin
Vladimir Putin held calls with several key allies, including Chinese president Xi Jinping and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, on Friday, a report in The Kyiv Independent states.
According to Chinese state media CCTV, Putin briefed Xi on recent contact with the US, with Xi welcoming dialogue and reaffirming Beijing’s support for efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Lukashenko was also updated on “negotiations and agreements” with Washington, Belarusian outlet Belta reported.
The Kremlin said Putin also spoke with the leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and India. Uzbek and Kazakh presidents were reportedly briefed on Putin’s meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff, while Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said on X, formerly Twitter, that he thanked Putin for sharing “the latest developments on Ukraine.”
Sweden, Norway and Denmark to buy $500 million of US arms for Ukraine war under new Nato scheme
04:45
,
Shahana Yasmin
Sweden, Norway and Denmark will contribute around €500mn (£434mn) to purchase US military equipment for Ukraine, joining the Netherlands in supporting a new Nato mechanism aimed at supplying American weapons to Kyiv.
Donald Trump said last month that the US would provide weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but he did not provide details on how this would work.
Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced on Monday that the Netherlands will contribute €500mn to the mechanism called the Nato Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative.
Watch: Trump envoy Witkoff meets Putin in Moscow as Russia-Ukraine peace deadline looms
04:30
,
Shahana Yasmin
Trump says Nobel Prize not his motivation for Ukraine-Russia peace push
04:16
,
Shahana Yasmin
Donald Trump has said he is not seeking the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in trying to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking at the White House alongside the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Friday, the US president said winning the award would be an honour but insisted he’s “not politicking for it.”
“I’m not doing it for that. I’m doing it because I really, number one, want to save lives,” Trump said, adding that’s why he’s “involved so much with Ukraine and Russia.”
Putin reportedly offers ceasefire deal to Trump ahead of Alaska peace talks
04:01
,
Shahana Yasmin
Vladimir Putin has proposed a two-phase ceasefire plan in Ukraine, offering to halt hostilities if Kyiv withdraws from Donetsk Oblast, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing European and Ukrainian officials.
The proposal, made during a meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff, would see Moscow gain full control of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea. Phase one would freeze the front line with a Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk; phase two would involve final peace talks between Donald Trump, Putin, and later, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said any peace deal may involve “some swapping of territories”.
“We're going to get some back. We're going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both,” he said.
ICYMI: Trump to meet Putin in Alaska for Ukraine peace talks
03:46
,
Shahana Yasmin
US president Donald Trump has announced he will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin on 15 August in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The talks, which could also involve Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, follow reports of progress towards a potential ceasefire deal.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump said a peace agreement may include territorial swaps “to the betterment of both.”
Polish PM Tusk says pause in Ukraine war could be close
03:00
,
Alexander Butler
A pause in the conflict in Ukraine could be close, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday after speaking to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition, that perhaps a freeze in the conflict - I don't want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict - is closer than it is further away,” he said. “There are hopes for this.”
Where did Putin and Trump last meet?
02:00
,
Bryony Gooch
The last meeting between the two presidents took place in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2018, during Trump’s first term as president.
Following the meeting, Trump publicly contradicted US intelligence agencies and appeared to take Putin’s word over their findings regarding Russian election interference.
The remarks caused bipartisan outrage in Washington, with many accusing Trump of having “sided with the enemy.”
At the time, Finland was known for its military neutrality, however, it has since joined Nato and taken a firm stance against Moscow. This means it is almost certainly ruled out as the grounds for their meeting next week.
Watch: Trump envoy Witkoff meets Putin in Moscow as Russia-Ukraine peace deadline looms
01:00
,
Bryony Gooch
A Trump-Putin summit will be as useful to Ukraine and democracy as Agent Orange is for gardening
Saturday 9 August 2025 00:01
,
Alexander Butler
Why did Trump and Putin choose Alaska to meet?
Friday 8 August 2025 23:41
,
Bryony Gooch
Vladimir Putin is restricted from travelling to countries held to the Rome Statute due to the arrest warrant in his name from the International Criminal Courts, which holds signing countries accountable to detain those in demand.
While the United States is not a signee of the statute, Alaska was perhaps an unexpected rendezvous choice when more obvious options such as Qatar and Switzerland were available.
Putin had originally said that he would have been happy with the United Arab Emirates as a meeting point.
But Alaska holds a special significance to both the US and Russia, after the state was sold by the Russian Empire to the United States in 1867.
Alaska was purchased by the United States for a sum of $7.2 million - the equivalent to between $129 million and $153.5 million today.
Breaking: Trump to meet Putin in Alaska next Friday
Friday 8 August 2025 23:17
,
Bryony Gooch
US president Donald Trump has said he will meet Russian president Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska.
Posting on Truth Social, the US leader said: “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.
“Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Putin told Witkoff he would agree to ceasefire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw forces from Donetsk - Report
Friday 8 August 2025 23:00
,
Bryony Gooch
Russian president has reportedly told US envoy Steve Witkoff that he would agree to a complete ceasefire if Kyiv agreed to withdraw forces from all of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Trump to meet with Putin 'very shortly'
Friday 8 August 2025 22:19
,
Bryony Gooch
US president Donald Trump said he will meet "very shortly" with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine and that he will announce the location soon.
"We're going to be announcing later, and we're going to have a meeting with Russia," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.
Another week, another deadline: Timeline of Trump’s promises to end Russia’s war on Ukraine
Friday 8 August 2025 22:00
,
Alexander Butler
Trump says will he meet with Putin soon
Friday 8 August 2025 21:24
,
Tara Cobham
US president Donald Trump has announced that he will soon meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin, with the location to be revealed shortly.
"I'll be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner, but I guess there are security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make," Mr Trump told reporters on Friday.
Putin tells US he'll halt war in exchange for eastern Ukraine, according to reports
Friday 8 August 2025 21:23
,
Tara Cobham
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff that he would agree to a complete ceasefire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw its forces from all of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Where Trump and Putin could meet as presidents expected to reunite for Ukraine ceasefire summit
Friday 8 August 2025 21:00
,
Alexander Butler
Comment: Could Trump’s ceasefire summit with Putin actually achieve a breakthrough?
Friday 8 August 2025 19:30
,
Alexander Butler
How would Trump-Putin talks compare to other historic summits?
Friday 8 August 2025 18:30
,
Alexander Butler
Trump and Putin’s phone calls last for hours because of Russian president’s ‘monologues,’ report says
Friday 8 August 2025 17:30
,
Alexander Butler
Trump jokes he would meet Putin at Florida golf resort
Friday 8 August 2025 16:30
,
Alexander Butler
Fox News’ White House Correspondent Peter Doocy reported on Thursday that the Trump administration was “really optimistic” that the meeting between the two presidents “might happen next week.”
However, his choice of words implied it was still uncertain. Doocy added that none of the advanced logistical work had yet been done by the State Department to prepare for such an encounter, noting that planning of that nature would generally take place “at least a couple of weeks” before it is required to be put into action.
He also said that no location had yet been decided, with Putin expressing a preference for the UAE, but that Trump would probably prefer to host the Russians at his Doral golf resort near Miami, Florida, a suggestion made only partly in jest.
Xi tells Putin China welcomes fresh US-Russia contacts as Trump seeks end to Ukraine war
Friday 8 August 2025 15:30
,
Alexander Butler
China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and improving ties to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis, President Xi Jinping said in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Beijing will maintain its stance on the need for peace talks and a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as telling Putin.
The call was held at Putin's request, CCTV said.
The call came after the Kremlin said on Thursday that Putin would meet U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days in the search for an end to the war, now in its fourth year.
Trump asked Italy about potentially hosting Putin talks, say reports
Friday 8 August 2025 15:04
,
Alexander Butler
Donald Trump spoke to Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni about meeting Vladimir Putin in Rome, according to reports.
Sky News reported that Mr Trump asked the Italian PM about hosting the talks following his special envoy’s meeting with Mr Putin.
Asked about this, the Italian government sources replied with a "no comment", according to the broadcaster.
Putin discusses agreements to meet with Trump in call with Lukashenko
Friday 8 August 2025 14:26
,
Alexander Butler
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed his meeting with Steve Witkoff, the envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the U.S. proposals for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in a phone call with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday, the Belarusian state news agency Belta reported.
Putin also informed Lukashenko about his agreement to hold a meeting with Trump, Belta reported, adding that the venue of the meeting was being determined.
The Russian state news agency TASS earlier said Putin had also spoken to the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and briefed them on talks he held this week with Witkoff on the Ukraine war.
Picture: Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer at Russian lines
Friday 8 August 2025 13:30
,
Alexander Butler
Analysis: A Trump-Putin summit will be as useful to Ukraine and democracy as Agent Orange is for gardening
Friday 8 August 2025 12:30
,
Alexander Butler
Another week, another deadline: Timeline of Trump’s promises to end Russia’s war on Ukraine
Friday 8 August 2025 11:30
,
Alexander Butler
Polish PM Tusk says pause in Ukraine war could be close
Friday 8 August 2025 10:46
,
Alexander Butler
A pause in the conflict in Ukraine could be close, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday after speaking to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition, that perhaps a freeze in the conflict - I don't want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict - is closer than it is further away,” he said. “There are hopes for this.”
A Trump-Putin summit will be as useful to Ukraine and democracy as Agent Orange is for gardening
Friday 8 August 2025 10:30
,
Arpan Rai
A long-overdue summit between the presidents of the United States and the Russian Federation to discuss peace in Ukraine, where nuclear war has been threatened, must be seen as a historic moment for optimism.
Except that from London to Langley, Berlin, Canberra and Tokyo, intelligence chiefs will be on tenterhooks wondering whether this is another occasion resembling the meeting between an agent and his handler.
There’s no evidence that Donald Trump works for Vladimir Putin. But there is ample evidence that the US president favours Putin’s agenda. And that he has done all he can to hobble Ukraine while it attempts to defend itself against a Russian invasion of Europe’s eastern flank.
Russian official says Trump and Putin may meet next week but not aware of any Zelensky meeting
Friday 8 August 2025 10:10
,
Arpan Rai
Russian president Vladimir Putin may meet with US president Donald Trump next week, Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said but added that he was not aware of any planned meeting between Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
"As far as I heard, there are a number of locations, but they agreed to something that they don't want to disclose. The timeline is, I think, next week, but that's again judging from what presidents said themselves," Polyanskiy told reporters about the Putin-Trump meeting.
"I haven't heard about any meeting planned with president Zelensky, but I am not in the loop," he added. There has been no summit of US and Russian leaders since Putin and former president Joe Biden met in Geneva in June 2021.
Zelensky pushes for Europe's greater role in peace talks
Friday 8 August 2025 10:00
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with the leaders of France and Germany and with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and said Europe must be involved in the peace process.
"The war is happening in Europe, and Ukraine is an integral part of Europe – we are already in negotiations on EU accession. Therefore, Europe must be a participant in the relevant processes," he said on X.
He said the war must end with a "dignified peace", and whatever settlement was reached would shape the security landscape of Europe for decades to come. Russia had still not said it was ready for a ceasefire, he added.
Ukraine and European leaders have long held concerns that Trump, who has voiced sympathy with some of Russia's demands, could align with Putin to force a deal on Zelensky that would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that US special envoy Steve Witkoff took part in Wednesday's call between Trump, Zelensky and European leaders and briefed them on some things that Putin could agree to.
Trump is using tariffs as foreign policy instrument, Bessent says
Friday 8 August 2025 09:50
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump is using tariffs as a foreign policy tool by imposing secondary duties on Indian goods because of India's purchase of Russian oil, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News.
"President Trump is using tariffs as an instrument of foreign policy, and he is putting secondary tariffs on India for buying Russian oil," Bessent told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" yesterday.
Asked if the US could slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods over Beijing's purchase of Russian oil, Bessent said Trump is keeping all options open to stop the war in Ukraine and "China tariffs could be on the table at some point."
UAE, a likely venue for Ukraine ceasefire talks suggested by Putin
Friday 8 August 2025 09:37
,
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin met with the president of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, which reports have previously suggested as a possible venue.
The UAE has quietly become a key broker for diplomacy, particularly between Russia and Ukraine, hosting negotiations over prisoner exchanges.
For Trump, a summit in Abu Dhabi or Dubai would provide the grandeur he often opts for, whilst also avoiding the bureaucracy of more traditional Western venues.
The UAE also has a strong working relationship with Putin, and has resisted Western sanctions against Russia.
Russia boosts drone and missile production to widen strikes on Ukraine, says ISW
Friday 8 August 2025 09:21
,
Arpan Rai
Russia has significantly scaled up its drone and missile production this year, in order to allow Moscow to rapidly increase the size of its strike packages that it launches against Ukraine, a US-based think tank has said.
Citing Ukraine's main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR), the Institute for the Study of War said the agency has assessed on 9 June that Russia can produce roughly 170 Shahed-type drones per day and that Russia plans to increase production capacity to 190 drones per day by the end of 2025.
“Russia continues to heavily invest in its long-range drone and missile production capabilities, including by leaning on partners and allies like Belarus, Iran, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and North Korea for weapons provisions, joint production efforts, and sanctions evasion schemes,” the ISW said.
It added: “Russia will only continue to invest in its drone and missile production capabilities and lean on its allies as it prepares for a prolonged war effort in Ukraine and potential future conflict against Nato.”
NEW: US and Russian officials continue to provide updates about a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future, but exact details remain uncertain. ⬇️
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) August 8, 2025
Putin may have used his meeting with US Special Envoy to the… pic.twitter.com/eevSAMFdCR
Zelensky explains why Europe should be a part of Ukraine ceasefire talks
Friday 8 August 2025 08:57
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky is rallying for the inclusion of European leaders in the upcoming talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine, stating that the war impacts the continent.
“Everyone also agrees that Russia's war against Ukraine is a war in Europe and against Europe. Every decision that will be made to end this war and guarantee security truly concerns all of Europe, not just one country,” he said in his nightly address.
“That's why Europe's voice must carry weight in the processes,” he said.
Mr Zelensky said Kyiv is coordinating with European leaders for aligning their position and safeguarding the common understanding.