Trump warns of pivotal, high-stakes meeting with Putin as pressure intensifies

Tensions escalated ahead of a high-stakes summit in Alaska between the United States and Russia, as Donald Trump warned Vladimir Putin that this was his one opportunity for a breakthrough, even as Moscow pressed forward with significant battlefield gains in Ukraine.

The meeting, set for Friday at an air base in Alaska, marks the first time Putin will step onto Western soil since his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. With the stakes so high, all parties were intensifying diplomatic efforts in the final hours before the talks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — steadfast in his refusal to cede territory — spoke with Trump by phone on Wednesday, alongside consultations with European leaders who later expressed confidence that the US president would push for a ceasefire rather than concessions to Moscow.

Trump, however, offered mixed signals. While hinting at a potential three-way summit with both Zelensky and Putin, he also cautioned that there might be no follow-up meeting if he found Putin’s answers unsatisfactory. Russia, he warned, would face “severe consequences” if its offensive continued.

Putin proposed the Alaska talks after Trump threatened fresh sanctions on Russia. Trump has already increased tariffs on India, now a key buyer of Russian energy. Zelensky — publicly supportive of US diplomacy despite his skepticism — reiterated his belief that Putin “does not want peace.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine was open to negotiating “territorial issues,” but ruled out any legal recognition of Russian-occupied areas. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte added bluntly: “The ball is now in Putin’s court.”

The summit will take place at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, a Cold War–era hub once central to monitoring the Soviet Union. In the city itself, signs of the looming diplomatic showdown were limited to an influx of media and fully booked hotels.

In a rare move, the US Treasury Department temporarily eased sanctions to allow visiting Russian officials to carry out basic transactions. But the most telling developments were unfolding on the battlefield: according to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces on August 12 made their largest single-day advance in over a year, capturing or claiming 110 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory.

In Kramatorsk, near the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers voiced skepticism about the outcome of the talks. “Putin is massing an army, stockpiling weapons, and trying to deceive us,” said Artem, a 30-year-old serviceman, predicting the war would drag on.

Although Trump has long expressed admiration for Putin and once vowed to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, he has grown increasingly frustrated as the Russian leader ignores calls for a ceasefire and intensifies his attacks.