Trump and Putin to Meet in Alaska to Forge a New Ukraine Peace Plan

In a surprising diplomatic maneuver, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska on 15 August to discuss an exit strategy for the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin confirmed the announcement, calling Alaska’s proximity to Russia “quite logical.” Trump broke the news via social media, underscoring his belief that a direct conversation between the two leaders could break the current stalemate.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky swiftly responded, insisting that any peace proposals must involve Kyiv at every stage. “The answer to the Ukrainian territorial issue is already in the Constitution of Ukraine,” he declared on his Telegram channel. Zelensky added that solutions crafted without Ukraine’s full participation would be “solutions against peace.”

Just hours before Trump announced the Alaska summit, he hinted that Ukraine might need to cede territory to end the conflict, which erupted when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Speaking at the White House, Trump said, “You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years… We’re going to get some back, we’re going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.” He declined to provide precise maps or timelines.

According to sources cited by CBS News, the White House is quietly pressing European capitals to accept a framework whereby Russia would retain the Donbas region and Crimea, while relinquishing control over Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Putin floated a nearly identical arrangement to Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, during recent Moscow talks.

European and Ukrainian leaders remain deeply skeptical. Zelensky has repeatedly ruled out any conditions that undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, rejecting demands that Kyiv renounce its NATO aspirations, slash its military capabilities, or withdraw forces from occupied regions—conditions Moscow views as non-negotiable.

The war’s front line has barely budged in recent months. Russia still controls roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, while Kyiv’s counteroffensives have failed to deliver a decisive breakthrough. Three rounds of direct negotiations in Istanbul produced no lasting truce, and Russia’s insistence on preconditions has been labeled by Western allies as de facto capitulation.

Behind the scenes, a senior White House official told CBS News that plans for the Alaska meeting are fluid and that Zelensky might participate in some capacity. Analysts have even published detailed briefings and simulation models on GitHub to anticipate possible compromises and territorial swaps.

Trump remains optimistic. “European leaders want peace, President Putin wants peace, and Zelensky wants peace,” he told reporters. He set an informal deadline of 8 August for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face new sanctions, though no fresh measures were announced as the date passed.

This upcoming summit will be the first direct meeting between Trump and Putin since Russia’s invasion, and the first in Alaska of all places. The last US-Russia leaders’ summit took place in Geneva in 2021 between Putin and President Joe Biden, and expectations are high that a face-to-face dialogue could at least sketch out the contours of a potential peace deal.

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