Former President Donald Trump has announced a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska.
Mr. Trump shared this information in a social media post, promising further details soon.
Previously, Mr. Trump indicated he would meet with Mr. Putin “very shortly” to discuss the war in Ukraine and that he would announce the location soon.
“We’re going to have a meeting with Russia, start off with Russia. And we’ll announce a location. I think the location will be a very popular one,” Mr. Trump stated.
These comments coincided with Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines expressing skepticism about a diplomatic resolution to the conflict and the arrival of Mr. Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to achieve peace.
Frustrated by Mr. Putin’s lack of response to calls to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, Mr. Trump accelerated his ultimatum nearly two weeks ago, threatening additional sanctions on Russia and secondary tariffs against countries purchasing Russian oil if the Kremlin did not work toward a settlement.
Mr. Trump’s efforts to pressure Mr. Putin into ending the fighting have not yet yielded any progress.
The Russian military continues to advance into Ukraine, incurring significant casualties and equipment losses while relentlessly shelling Ukrainian cities.
Russia and Ukraine remain significantly divided regarding the terms for peace.
Ukrainian forces are engaged in intense combat along the 620-mile front line stretching from northeast to southeast Ukraine.
The Pokrovsk region in eastern Donetsk is currently enduring the heaviest fighting as Russia attempts to advance into the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region.
Ukraine faces significant manpower shortages.
Heavy fighting is also ongoing in Ukraine’s northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are battling Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements from being sent to Donetsk.
In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander expressed his belief that Moscow is not interested in peace.
“It is impossible to negotiate with them. The only option is to defeat them,” said Buda, a commander of a drone unit in the Spartan Brigade, using only his call sign in accordance with Ukrainian military regulations.
“I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them,” he stated.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw stated that troops are determined to repel the Russian invasion.
“We are on our land, we have no way out,” he said. “So we stand our ground, we have no choice.”
The Kremlin reported that Mr. Putin had a phone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which he informed Mr. Xi about the outcomes of his recent meeting with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff.
Kremlin officials stated that Mr. Xi “expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis.”
Mr. Putin is scheduled to visit China next month. The US alleges that China, along with North Korea and Iran, has been providing military assistance to Russia’s war efforts.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on X that he also had a conversation with Mr. Putin to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday imposing an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, which the former American president claims is helping to fund Russia’s war.
The Kremlin reported that Mr. Putin’s calls followed phone conversations with the leaders of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus.
