Trump–Putin Alaska Summit: High-Stakes Talks on Ukraine War and Nuclear Arms

Key Highlights of the Trump–Putin Meeting

• Meeting time & location: US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Anchorage, Alaska today at 3:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. local time).

• Trump’s outlook: Trump believes Putin may be ready to strike a deal to end the Ukraine war, but he estimates the talks have only a 25% chance of success.

• Ukraine excluded: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been left out of the meeting. Trump has warned Moscow of “very severe consequences” if Putin refuses a peace agreement.

• Possible next steps: If the summit goes well, Trump has hinted at a trilateral meeting with Zelensky and possibly European leaders, who remain highly cautious of Putin.

Putin’s Position and Agenda

Putin has praised the Trump administration’s diplomatic efforts to halt the war, suggesting the two nations could also discuss nuclear arms control during this summit.
However, a key obstacle remains — any peace deal would require resolving territorial disputes, as Russia currently occupies nearly 20% of Ukraine’s land.

Ukrainian Reaction: Skepticism and Low Expectations

Nataliya Gumenyuk, a Ukrainian journalist and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, told CNN that the summit is “not seen as a serious attempt to bring peace.”
She argued:

• Putin shows no signs of ending the war.

• One of Putin’s main goals could be to push the US to stop supporting Ukraine.

• For Trump, the talks appear aimed at “organizing his relations” with the Russian leader rather than securing peace.

Hopes Rest on Smaller Gains

While many Ukrainians doubt this summit will end the war, they remain cautiously hopeful it could lead to progress on prisoner-of-war exchanges.

Interestingly, the location — Alaska — carries symbolic weight. It was once a Russian colony, sold to the US in 1867 for $7.2 million, adding a layer of historical irony to the meeting.