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BRUSSELS (AP) — European leaders have praised President Donald Trump for agreeing to allow U.S. military support for a force they are mustering to police any future peace in Ukraine — a move that vastly improves the chances of success for an operation that could prove essential for the country's security.The leaders said Trump offered American military backup for the European “reassurance force” during a call they held with him ahead of his planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. They did not say what the assistance might involve, and Trump himself has not publicly confirmed any support.The...

The UK's Defence Secretary has said that Britain is willing to “put boots on the ground” to help enforce a ceasefire in Ukraine, in the event that one is agreed. Defence Secretary John Healey has commented the peace summit today in Alaska "could be the first step" towards peace in the Ukraine conflict. The minister also stated the government was prepared to "step up economic sanctions and pressure on Putin if he shows today in Alaska he really isn't serious". The Defence Secretary has affirmed the UK will continue to stand by Ukraine during these peace talks and has said:...

As President Trump seeks to gauge Putin's intentions, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy remains excluded from critical discussions about the war in Ukraine.U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday for a high-stakes discussion over the future of the war in Ukraine. Notably, the conversation will not include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has insisted that Ukraine must be involved in any ceasefire agreements. President Trump stated that his ultimate goal is to end the fighting between Ukraine and Russia. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, 3.7 million people in Ukraine have been...

VIDEOThe inevitable Rent-A-Mob showed up in Anchorage, Alaska to protest against President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin possibly bringing an end to the bloody Ukraine War. What do the Rent-A-Mob paymasters want? The continuation of that War so Trump won't appear as a peacemaker.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, will attend President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, according to two senior Defense Department officials. Hegseth isn't joining with Trump on Air Force One, instead flying separately, the officials said. Caine has already arrived in Alaska, a third DOD official said.

The White House revealed on Friday the team that will accompany US President Donald Trump to the Alaska summit on Friday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Luntick, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe are among the top US officials who will join Trump for his highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his delegation. Additionally, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, among others, are expected to travel with the US president...

Aug 14, 2025

LONDON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine, more than three years after Moscow launched its invasion, as the two leaders prepared for a pivotal U.S.–Russia summit Friday in Alaska.Following a meeting Thursday with top government officials on the summit, Putin said in a short video released by the Kremlin that the Trump administration was making “quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities” and to “reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved.”Putin also suggested that “long-term conditions of peace between our countries,...

Face-to-face talks between President Trump and Vladimir Putin on Friday will give the Russian president a chance to pitch his conditions for peace, chief among them for Ukraine to hand over swaths of its territory. Putin has long coveted the south and east of Ukraine, which his army has failed to fully occupy. Trump has said he would seek to negotiate a swap that would return some of the territory Russia occupies back to Ukraine, without offering further detail. The Kremlin has declared five occupied regions to be part of Russia—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea. Of those, Russia fully...

United States President Donald Trump mentioned on Thursday that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "will make peace." "We will see if they can get along. And if they can, it will be great ... I thought the easiest [war to solve] would be this one, [but] it's actually the most difficult," he commented during a press conference. He reiterated that the potential second meeting will outweigh the importance of the one taking place tomorrow in Alaska. Trump revealed that this meeting could potentially involve both Putin and Zelensky, himself, as well as potentially some...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.Bessent notes the backseat demands from EU leaders with their position on the Trump negotiation strategy has worn thin amid their hypocrisy. “It’s time to put up or shut up,” Bessent says, when talking about how the EU is still facilitating the economic purchases of Russian energy products, while simultaneously demanding Trump do this and that. WATCH: I am cautiously optimistic for a positive outcome from this summit.DETAILS ON THE SUMMIT BELOW♦ Date: Friday August 15, 2025♦ Venue:...

Once a vague proposal for a territorial swap gained clarity, a worried President Volodymyr Zelensky worked to rally allies before Friday’s Trump-Putin summit.President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine was returning from the front line last week when he joined a pivotal call with President Trump.Hours earlier, Mr. Zelensky had visited soldiers defending Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region against Russian ground assaults. Now, stopping in the small city of Romny, he listened on a secure line with other European leaders as Mr. Trump outlined Russia’s proposal to end the war.Moscow, Mr. Trump told them, was ready to halt hostilities under a deal involving...

This is an interesting video that touches on the talks between Trump and Putin, and the situation in Ukraine. It includes an interview with a Russian writer/journalist -- who I don't know -- and his interesting take on the war. I found it to be a very level-headed interview and discussion, and one that also touches on the history of war in Ukraine.

The common denominator is India’s rivalry with China...Trump recently made a show of doubling his 25% tariffs on India as punishment for its continued purchase of Russian energy and military-technical equipment.Influenced by Lindsey Graham, he expected that India would dump Russia after the costs of doing business with it spiked, the Kremlin would thus lose this important foreign revenue flow, and then Putin would make concessions to Ukraine in exchange for lifting these secondary sanctions in to avoid bankruptcy.Here’s why India defied the US:1. The “Voice Of The Global South” Can’t Bow To US DemandsIndia has presented itself as the...

President Trump’s upcoming summit in Alaska with President Putin will be a defining moment not just in U.S. relations with the Russian Federation, but also for the safety and survival of the world. I do not believe that most Americans fully understand the gravity of the situation. My personal assessment is that if these two leaders cannot reach an agreement this weekend, then the chances increase dramatically that events could spiral out of control, leading to an unthinkable catastrophe. Zelensky appears to be trying to box in President Trump by his trip to Germany to continue funds flow to him...

After three years of war, with the commentariat on both sides eagerly predicting the looming collapse of the enemy, it behooves one to develop a prudent aversion to histrionic predictions. However, it seems fairly obvious that the war in Ukraine is at a critical juncture, and August 2025 will receive considerable play in retrospective accounts of the conflict, as perhaps the last opportunity for Ukraine to cut a deal and slither out of its strategic grave. On Friday, August 15, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are slated to meet in Alaska to discuss steps to end the war. Whether those...

Countless men and women are dead. Cities have been destroyed. Other nations want to “help” by sending weapons, but Ukrainians are eager to end the war. A Gallup poll from July 1-14 found that only 24% of Ukrainians would fight until victory. Back in 2022, 73% of people favored fighting until victory, but now the true cost has been revealed, and there is no victory in war. As of July 2025, 69% of Ukrainians support ending the war immediately through negotiations with Russia. In contrast, only 22% of the nation felt that peace talks were warranted in 2022. Ukrainians notably...

United States President Donald Trump commented on Thursday that he is unsure whether he will hold a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Speaking on Fox News radio, Trump explained that everything depends on how their meeting goes. The US head of state detailed that if discussions go well, the two will appear together and address the press. On the other hand, should talks not go well, the joint press conference will not happen. Trump further added that if negotiations go badly, he would hold a solo press briefing and head right back to...

The Kremlin has confirmed the names of those who will attend the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska this Friday, August 15, among other details about the schedule. -snip- Alongside Putin will be Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who heads Russia's sovereign wealth fund. -snip- The summit, to be held at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage and centred on agreeing a settlement on Ukraine, will begin at 11:30 a.m. local time, the Kremlin said, according to...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised President Donald Trump for his efforts to broker an end to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, as preparations continued for the Friday summit between the American and Russian leaders in Alaska. The Trump administration "is making quite an energetic and sincere effort, in my opinion, to stop hostilities, to stop the crisis and to reach an agreement that is of interest to all those involved in this conflict," Putin said during a meeting of his top officials to prepare for the Alaska summit, according to a readout published by the Kremlin. The process could...