Donald Trump will host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Monday, the Ukrainian leader says. The pair had a “long, meaningful” chat after Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska last night, at which the US rolled out the red carpet for Russia’s leader. Follow live below.
Saturday 16 August 2025 16:29, UK
Vladimir Putin says his visit to Alaska was “useful and timely”.
The Russian leader also says the conversation he had with Donald Trump was “sincere and substantive”, Russia’s TASS news agency reports.
Putin also told the officials that Russia respects the US’s position on the Ukraine conflict.
It should be noted that Putin earlier spoke of the need to eliminate the “root causes” of the conflict.
That phrase essentially means Moscow has no intention of watering down its red lines.
For Vladimir Putin, the very fact that he was in Alaska to speak with Donald Trump represented a victory.
The Kremlin leader has been ostracised by Western leaders since the start of the war, and just a week earlier had faced a threat of new sanctions from Trump.
Here, Sky’s Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett takes a look at how Putin appeared during the summit…
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump that he could relax some territorial gains in Ukraine in exchange for the eastern Donetsk region, the Financial Times reports.
The Russian leader told Trump he could freeze the rest of the frontline if his core demands were met, the FT says, citing four people with direct knowledge of the talks.
In exchange for the Donetsk region, Putin said he would freeze the frontline in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and not launch new attacks to take more of the territory.
The move would hand Moscow full control of a territory it has occupied since 2014.
But sources familiar with Zelenskyy’s thinking have said he would not agree to hand over Donetsk, but that he would be open to discussing land with Trump in Washington.
How much of the Donbas does Russia occupy?
Russia controls about 88% of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, including all of the Luhansk region and 75% of the Donetsk region.
About 6,600 sq km is still controlled by Ukraine but Russia has been focusing most of its energy along the front in Donetsk, pushing towards the last remaining major cities.
Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions broke away from Ukrainian government control in 2014 and proclaimed themselves independent “people’s republics”.
Putin in 2022 recognised them as independent states just days before the invasion of Ukraine.
European leaders have been invited to attend a Monday meeting with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, the New York Times is reporting, citing two senior European officials.
Monday’s meeting will mark the first return to the White House for Zelenskyy since his infamous showdown with Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, in the Oval Office this February.
The Ukrainian leader has said he would travel to Washington to discuss next steps, while Kyiv’s European allies have welcomed Trump’s efforts but vowed to back Ukraine and tighten sanctions on Russia.
They have also urged the US to offer security guarantees for Ukraine.
Here is a look at how the Trump-Zelenskyy talks unravelled in February…
Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin for nearly three hours in Alaska yesterday at the first US-Russia summit since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Before the summit, Trump had said he would not be happy unless a ceasefire was agreed on.
But afterwards he said that, after his talks with Zelenskyy, “if all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin”.
In this edition of Trump 100, our correspondents James Matthews, Martha Kelner and Ivor Bennett take a look at the talks…
Coalition of the Willing leaders will meet via video conference tomorrow afternoon ahead of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington on Monday, the French presidency office is reporting.
The meeting will be co-presided by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Sir Keir Starmer, the office said.
The meeting comes after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met for the first time in more than six years yesterday for high-stakes talks.
Following the talks, both leaders described the summit as productive but said no deal had been reached – and the word ceasefire was not mentioned by either.
Ben Wallace has said he is “worried” that Donald Trump will lash out at Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visits Washington on Monday.
The former Conservative defence secretary told Sky News that Trump had “failed to deliver a deal” and that his track record shows that he usually tries to pin the blame on somebody else.
“I’m worried that next week it could be president Zelenskyy who he will seek to blame,” he said.
“He’ll paint him as the warmonger, when in fact everyone knows it’s president Putin.”
The US president and his VP JD Vance grilled Zelenskyy during his last visit to the White House in March for “gambling with World War Three”.
Zelenskyy and European leaders have since put a lot of effort into rebuilding that relationship, and there appeared to be a breakthrough chat between the US and Ukrainian leaders at the Pope’s funeral in April.
Several European leaders have made their own statements about Trump and Putin’s summit.
They come after eight leaders – including Sir Keir Starmer – made a joint statement having spoken to Trump and Zelenskyy (see our 10:40 post).
We have already shared the UK prime minister’s thoughts, which you can see in our 11:00 post.
Here’s what some of the other leaders have said:
European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen
She thanked Trump for the update on discussions and stressed the importance of strong security guarantees for Ukraine.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron
He said it was “vital” to keep supporting Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia, adding that it was essential to remember Russia’s “well-established tendency not to honour its own commitments”.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
In a brief statement, Meloni said the talks in Alaska had offered a “glimmer of hope” for peace in Ukraine.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz
He shared the EC’s statement on social media, saying the leaders “welcomed President Trump’s efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine”.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb
He thanked Trump for his briefing and said security guarantees for Ukraine were crucial along with collaboration with Zelenskyy for “just and lasting peace”.
European Council President Antonio Costa
In Costa’s brief statement, he welcomed Trump’s diplomatic efforts and stated: “The killing must stop.”
Trump says he made headway, but there is no deal. The words ceasefire weren’t even heard during this historic summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
In this edition of Trump 100, Martha Kelner, James Matthews and Sky’s Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett debrief on the day that saw Putin welcomed with a red carpet and applause and leave without a deal on the table.
They discuss if there’s any prospect of a three-way meeting with Zelenskyy and if Trump is any closer to becoming the peacemaker he desires to be.
All eyes were on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as they met for the first time in more than six years, the Russian president visiting the US for high-stakes talks anticipated beforehand to potentially shape the war in Ukraine.
Following the talks, both leaders described the summit as productive but said no deal had been reached – and the word ceasefire was not mentioned by either.
They did not take questions from reporters – leaving perhaps even more than before the talks started.
There’s a lot to unpack.
Here is the view from our correspondents Ivor Bennett and James Matthews on what the summit means for Ukraine, Putin and Trump.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free