Trump to meet Putin in Alaska over Ukraine war

The US president says a possible end to the war could include territorial concessions as he plans a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump to meet Putin in Alaska next Friday to discuss Ukraine war

Donald Trump announced he will meet Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine. He suggested that ending the conflict would require some swapping of territories, a line he has floated before and repeated on Truth Social. The location and timing were confirmed in a brief post, with Trump noting that security arrangements influenced the scheduling.

Bloomberg reported that the deal under discussion could freeze frontline lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in exchange for territorial concessions, effectively locking in some of Putin’s gains. US and Russian officials were said to be negotiating such a framework, a proposal that would be politically sensitive in Ukraine. The White House and European leaders have signaled cautious engagement, and Zelenskyy has been in contact with European leaders while expressing support for a ceasefire planning process. The Kremlin has indicated it would prefer a bilateral summit with Trump, while Putin has said he is not yet ready to meet Zelenskyy, underscoring ongoing tensions about who shapes any peace settlement.

The idea of trading territorial concessions to end the war shifts the term of victory and raises questions about Ukraine’s sovereignty. A potential freeze risks turning battlefield gains into a political stalemate, with Ukraine possibly bearing the cost of concessions without a guaranteed path to a lasting peace. At the same time, a high level summit between Trump and Putin signals how far diplomacy could bend the map, even as it tests allies who have sought a united Western stance.

This moment also tests Western reactions to diplomacy that excludes Kyiv. If the Alaska meeting goes ahead, lawmakers and voters will watch closely how the proposed terms align with international law and with Ukraine’s security guarantees. The episode underscores how domestic politics in the United States can intersect with European security, and how quickly discussions can move from negotiations to public debate over sovereignty and collective defense.

Highlights

Diplomacy will be tested by what is put on the table and what is left out