Trump said after meeting with Putin in Alaska the “best way” to end Russia’s war with Ukraine is “to go directly to a peace agreement,” and not a “mere ceasefire agreement.”

Trump and Putin met at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday afternoon to discuss an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began more than three years ago. The pair announced “great progress” had been made, but they still did not reach any kind of plan to end the war.

US President Donald Trump is briefing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders about his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin, German government sources told dpa on Saturday morning.

Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not reach a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine after talks in Alaska.

As President Trump touched down in Anchorage on Friday to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over the war in Ukraine, that country’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky, criticized continuing Russian strikes as a sign that Moscow was not prepared to end the conflict.

A diplomatic scramble unfolded Saturday after President Donald Trump announced he would meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, next week in Alaska, as European leaders rushed to understand the terms of the meeting and ensure Ukraine was not being left out of discussions about its future.

Trump and Putin’s brief private tarmac chat in Alaska has set off a storm of speculation. Cameras caught the two leaders leaning in close, sharing words that reporters couldn’t hear — but a lip-reading expert now claims to have cracked their conversation.

Kyiv has repeatedly rejected any so-called "land swap" which would be against the Ukrainian Constitution. Zelensky's comments on Saturday acknowledge Trump's role in any peace deal with the summit but again reject the chances that Ukrainian land can be traded for peace.