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Trump suggests other European leaders, including Zelensky, could be invited to a second meeting following today’s summit
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US president Donald Trump has billed his summit with Vladimir Putin as “high stakes” ahead of flying to Anchorage, Alaska, for their first meeting in seven years.
Russian and US delegations began arriving in the city on Friday, with footage showing Air Force One waiting at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before its departure. On Truth Social, Trump posted a blunt two-word warning: “HIGH STAKES!!!”
Meanwhile, Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was spotted in Anchorage in a vintage USSR sweatshirt. He told reporters Moscow “never plans ahead” – a remark that added to the uncertainty surrounding the talks.
Trump has vowed that the Russian president is “not going to mess around with me” as he attempts to secure a ceasefire deal. He also floated the possibility of bringing in European leaders, including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, for a second round of negotiations.
The White House said Friday’s programme will include a one-on-one meeting between the two presidents, a bilateral lunch with their delegations and a joint press conference – a sequence likely to set the tone for relations between Washington and Moscow in the crucial days to come.
Putin’s aggression on the Ukrainian frontline has stepped up in the recent weeks, leaving locals with little choice but to flee west. Harry Stourton reports from the eastern town of Dobropillia.
Two people have been killed and seven injured as a result of Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, Ukraine’s ministry of internal affairs has reported.
One of the injured people was a child.
Police have recorded 2,303 enemy strikes on the frontline and housing sector.
“There were 14 settlements under fire: the cities of Dobropillya, Konstantinivka, Lyman, Sloviansk, the villages of Droisheve, Zarichne, Novoselivka, Svyatogorivka, the villages of Andriyivka, Bilokuzminivka, Virivka, Dobropillâ, Golden Well, Oleksandrivka.
“98 civilian objects were destroyed, among them 71 residential buildings.”
As Trump boards Air Force One to begin his journey to Alaska, Russian president Vladimir Putin has stopped in the town of Magadan, east of Russia, as part of his motorcade journey to Alaska.
Footage on Russian Telegram channels, reposted by Ukraine’s former advisor to the internal affairs minister Anton Gerashchenko on X, shows the roads were cleared for Putin’s massive motorcade as rain poured in the Russian town.
French president Emmanuel Macron spoke to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday and both leaders agreed to meet again after the Alaska summit between US president Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, said the Elysee.
President Trump has arrived at Joint Base Andrew where he will board Air Force One to make the seven hour flight over to Anchorage, Alaska for his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
He’s bringing with him a 16-person strong team as his US delegation, including secretary of state Marco Rubio, treasury secretary Steve Bessent, secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick and CIA director John Ratcliffe.
The White House has announced a 16-person strong delegation for its Alaska talks as President Trump is preparing to head to Anchorage.
The team is set to include secretary of state Marco Rubio, treasury secretary Steve Bessent, secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick and CIA director John Ratcliffe.
Russian troops took control of the settlement of Oleksandrohrad in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report.
US president Donald Trump is getting ready to leave for the summit shortly, with footage showing Air Force One at Joint Base in Maryland, preparing to travel to Anchorage, Alaska.
It’s just past 7am in Maryland right now and Mr Trump has already shown he recognises what an important day it is, as he posted on Truth Social a two word insight into his thoughts ahead of the summit: “HIGH STAKES!!!”
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