Putin praises 'sincere' U.S. as Ukraine braces for Trump-Putin summit

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised what he called “sincere efforts” by the United States to end the war in Ukraine, raising the prospect of nuclear arms control talks ahead of a Friday summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska. It will be the first Russia-U.S. leaders’ meeting since June 2021 and could shape the endgame to Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two. Putin signalled that Russia would raise strategic arms control as part of broader security discussions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European allies have been working to prevent any deal that would see Ukrainian territory handed to Russia, fearing such an outcome would leave Ukraine exposed to future aggression. European officials believe Putin may try to divert Trump’s focus from Ukraine by offering progress on arms control or economic cooperation, but warn that Russia’s main goals remain lifting sanctions and ultimately taking more Ukrainian territory. Trump has threatened “severe consequences” if Putin refuses peace, but it remains unclear what those consequences would be.

Ukraine’s allies say Trump has shown some willingness to back security guarantees for Kyiv, a potential breakthrough if it leads to a lasting peace. At a virtual meeting with European leaders, Trump reportedly said NATO should not be part of such guarantees a stance that aligns with Russian preferences but that the U.S. and other willing partners could join them. French President Emmanuel Macron called this an important step, while officials noted it was Trump’s most explicit statement yet on offering such guarantees. The summit comes at a challenging moment for Ukraine, which has suffered manpower shortages and recent Russian advances of about 9–10 km near Dobropillia in Donetsk. Russia currently controls roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Trump has previously floated the idea of a “land swap” deal, which Kyiv and European leaders strongly oppose, saying it would reward Moscow for years of aggression. The Kremlin says the meeting will also cover untapped economic potential between the two countries. Meanwhile, nearly two dozen fires of conflict political, military, and diplomatic surround the talks, with both sides under pressure to secure outcomes that reshape the trajectory of the war and broader U.S.-Russia relations.

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