Final preparations are underway for Friday’s highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska — their first in-person meeting since 2019.

The talks, scheduled for 15 August, are expected to center on achieving peace in Ukraine, where fighting has continued since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trump has said the summit will determine whether a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will follow, warning that if the meeting fails, “there will be no second chance.”

Kyiv and European leaders have urged against any unilateral U.S.–Russia agreement, insisting that Ukraine must be part of all negotiations. Zelensky has called for an immediate ceasefire but voiced doubts over whether the Alaska meeting will deliver results.

Ahead of the summit, Zelensky is meeting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, where Starmer described the U.S. mediation as a “real opportunity” for a ceasefire.

alaska talks

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz departs the Chancellery onboard a helicopter with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, after a virtual meeting about the upcoming Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, August 13, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Battlefield developments

Despite the upcoming talks, Russian forces have made significant advances in eastern and southern Ukraine, including Kherson and Donetsk regions. On 12 August, they captured roughly 110 square kilometers of additional territory, prompting urgent evacuations of civilians from critical areas. Ukrainian authorities report civilian deaths from Russian drone and artillery attacks, and intelligence suggests major troop movements toward Zaporizhzhia, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka.

Negotiation sticking points

Russia is demanding formal control of occupied territories — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson — as well as Ukraine’s withdrawal from NATO and an end to Western arms supplies. Kyiv has rejected these conditions. Trump has floated the idea of potential territorial exchanges, but Zelensky has ruled out withdrawing forces from occupied areas. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Ukraine is open to discussing territorial issues, but not to granting legal recognition of Russian control, while French President Emmanuel Macron has stressed such matters are for Zelensky alone to negotiate.

Moscow appears to be downplaying U.S.–European coordination, aiming to secure both military and diplomatic leverage ahead of the summit.

The atmosphere in Alaska

In Anchorage, there is little visible security buildup on city streets, but hotels and car rental agencies are seeing a surge in demand as foreign delegations and media crews arrive. The U.S. Treasury has temporarily suspended certain sanctions on Putin and Russian officials to facilitate the meeting.