Ukraine's Zelenskyy to visit Washington as Trump rules out quick ceasefire after Putin summit

Trump engages with Zelensky, European leaders on potential U.S.-backed, NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine

Monica Alba and Kristen Welker

Trump hand-delivered a personal letter from first lady Melania Trump to Putin on Friday that raised concerns about abducted children from the war in Ukraine, according to two White House officials and a senior administration official. 

Reuters was first to report the letter. 

Alexandra Marquez and Jackson Peck

In remarks to senior political officials in Russia today, Putin offered his thoughts on the Alaska summit, telling officials, "There was an opportunity to calmly and in detail once again state our position."

"Of course, we respect the position of the American administration, which sees the need for a speedy end to hostilities. Well, we would also like this and would like to move on to resolving all issues by peaceful means," he added. "The conversation was very frank, meaningful, and, in my opinion, this brings us closer to the necessary decisions."

Lindsey Pipia and Alexandra Marquez

A pro-Trump group today sent another fundraising email to supporters that mentioned the president's meeting with Putin in Alaska.

"I met with Putin in Alaska yesterday! After my meeting with him, I need you to answer just one question… Do you still stand with Donald Trump?" the email reads.

This comes after the group sent an email seeking donations on Friday, ahead of the Alaska summit.

The email read, "I’m meeting with Putin in Alaska! It’s a little chilly. THIS MEETING IS VERY HIGH STAKES for the world. The Democrats would love nothing more than for ME TO FAIL. No one in the world knows how to make deals like me!"

European leaders have praised Trump following the Alaska summit with Putin, while at the same time reiterating their firm support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron said it was essential to “continue supporting Ukraine and to maintain pressure on Russia,” and called for “unwavering security guarantees.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz each welcomed Trump’s efforts to bring the conflict to an end. Meloni emphasized that only Ukraine “will be able to negotiate on the conditions and its territories.”

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, described Trump’s determination to pursue a peace deal as “vital,” but warned that “the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon.”

President Donald Trump has promised a “Peace Agreement” to end the war in Ukraine following his summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, dropping his demand for a ceasefire and sparking fears he is moving closer to Putin’s position.

Trump had phone calls overnight with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who travels to Washington for talks on Monday — and European leaders.

But the shift in stance has sparked fears that Trump has adopted Putin’s position, as European leaders reiterated that borders cannot change through force and analysts warned of potentially disastrous consequences.

Read the full story here.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says President Donald Trump has "brought us closer than ever before" to ending the war in Ukraine.

"While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy," he said in a statement. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him."

Starmer added that he welcomed the "openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal."

U.S. lawmakers are divided across the aisle over the outcome of Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, which failed to produce a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said on X that the meeting was a "step in the right direction," while Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas said he was "cautiously optimistic," and that Ukraine "must be part of any negotiated settlement."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X that Trump was "moving us towards PEACE."

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote that Trump had "rolled out the red carpet" for an "authoritarian thug," saying the President handed Putin "legitimacy, a global stage, zero accountability, and got nothing in return."

His concerns were echoed by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who said Trump had treated "a war criminal like royalty."

Europe’s defense lies "in Europe’s own hands," says Ukrainian anti-corruption activist Olena Halushka.

Halushka made her comments on X alongside a picture of the soldiers laying a red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin beside his plane in Alaska.

"I'm no longer even shocked by what is happening," she said.

Reporting from KHARKIV, Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he will be coming to the White House on Monday to meet with President Donald Trump and discuss “ending the war” in Ukraine. How is Ukraine reacting to the summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and what should we expect from Zelenskyy’s upcoming meeting at the White House?

A red-carpet welcome and a handshake are "a small price to pay" if it gets Putin to discuss peace, according to one analyst, who said the "biggest problem" was that the meeting happened without Ukraine or other European leaders.

"The real question is not about the images being being produced," Moritz Brake, a senior fellow at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies, told NBC News today.

"The question is about the substance of what was being talked about and how it’s being turned into something that the alliance can work with. How is Ukraine, first and foremost, being taken on board?"

While the substance of discussions at the summit remains largely unknown, Moritz said it was "one more chance to see the aggressor in his true form."

"That might be a positive outcome," he added. "That this discussion leads to greater clarity and sobriety on the possibilities of dealing with an aggressor like Putin."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy further underlined his country's position today by calling for an agreement that achieves a "real and lasting peace, not just another pause between Russian invasions."

"The killings must stop as soon as possible, the fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the skies, as well as against our port infrastructure," Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram channel.

"All Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians must be freed, and the children abducted by Russia must be returned. Thousands of our people are still held in captivity, and all of them must come home," he added.

Zelenskyy said that in a phone call overnight he urged Trump not just to keep economic sanctions on Russia in place if no deal is reached, but to strengthen them.

He said that all issues, "especially territorial ones," can't be decided without Ukraine and noted the statement from European leaders earlier today that also made this plea.

European leaders have welcomed President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine following a joint phone call this morning with Zelenskyy, and said further talks must include the Ukrainian president.

"As President Trump said ‘there’s no deal until there’s a deal,’" read the statement by the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Britain, Finland and Poland, as well as the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.

"The next step must now be further talks including President Zelenskyy, whom he will meet soon," it said, adding that "it will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory."

The leaders also said that Russia "cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO," and that "no limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries."

Putin sat down for a meeting with the head of Russia’s Chukotka Autonomous Region in Anadyr, Chukotka, this morning, following his meeting with Trump in Alaska, according to a Russian government handout image.

AFP - Getty Images

Russian drones struck multiple regions in Ukraine last night, officials said, as attacks continued during the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

"Air defense forces shot down or suppressed 61 enemy Shahed-type UAVs and decoy drones of various types over the northern and eastern regions of the country," the Ukrainian air force said in a statement today. "Confirmed strikes include missile and UAV hits: 24 drones struck 12 locations."

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Reporting from KHARKIV, Ukraine

As President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin ended their summit without a deal, sirens sounded in Ukraine as more drone attacks were launched. While the talk is of a peace agreement, with the the lack of a deal in place Russia is still on the offensive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is "trying to prolong the conflict," the Czech Republic's defense minister has said, adding that the summit in Alaska helped reveal the Russian leader's "true motives."

"Putin is not looking for peace, but an opportunity to weaken Western unity and spread his propaganda," Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said on X today. "He is trying to prolong the conflict in order to achieve the maximum of his goals in terms of Russian expansion."

Cernochova added that it was "necessary to maintain the cohesion of the West and persist in supporting Ukraine."

President Donald Trump has promised a "Peace Agreement" to end the war in Ukraine following his summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and phone calls last night with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European leaders and the secretary-general of NATO.

"A great and very successful day in Alaska!" he posted on Truth Social early this morning. "It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up."

Trump also confirmed that Zelenskyy would visit the Oval Office on Monday.

"If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin," he added. "Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

A meeting between Putin, Zelenskyy and Trump “has not yet been raised,” said Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s long-serving presidential aide and a former ambassador to the United States, as reported by Russian state media TASS.

TASS also reported Ushakov saying “he does not yet know when the next meeting between Putin and Trump will take place.”

Putin was "rehabilitated" by his U.S. reception while the war in Ukraine continues, a leading German lawmaker has said, labeling the summit in Alaska "Black Friday."

“There is no ceasefire, and there are no serious consequences,” Roderich Kiesewetter of the center-right CDU party, told German broadcaster ARD today.

Instead, Kiesewetter said the summit allowed Putin and Trump to appear on the world stage "as equals," and that Trump's red-carpet reception of Putin was in "blatant contradiction" to the reception given to Zelenskyy at the White House.

Kiesewetter appeared to be referring to Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump at the White House in February, when he was told to leave the building after a spat with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn’t have asked for a better reception.

He was greeted with a red carpet, a jet flyover and a ride with President Donald Trump in the armored presidential Cadillac limousine known as “The Beast.”

Putin’s beaming smile in the window of the limo as they drove off the tarmac together summed up the moment.

Read the full story here.

The high-stakes, historic summit that took place in Alaska yesterday ended without an agreement. Here's a breakdown of the day, from the arrival of the two leaders through the news conference where President Donald Trump said, “There’s no deal until there is a deal.”

Freddie Clayton

Ostap Hunkevych and Freddie Clayton

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said he will discuss ending the war in his homeland with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, following a “long and meaningful conversation” between the two leaders last night.

“President Trump informed me about his meeting with the Russian leader, about the main points of their conversation,” he posted on Telegram. “We support President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting — Ukraine, America, and Russia.”

Zelenskyy added it was important that Europeans are “involved at all stages to reliably guarantee security together with America,” and that European leaders eventually joined the phone call with Trump.

“We discussed the positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security,” he said. “Thank you to everyone who is helping!”

Putin left Alaska the happier man according to Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference, who said it's a clear "1-0" victory for the Russian president.

"Putin got his red carpet treatment with Trump, while Trump got nothing," he posted on X. "As was to be feared: no ceasefire, no peace."

Ischinger said the result was "deeply disappointing for Europe," and that the Ukrainians have also ended up with "nothing."

President Donald Trump arrived back at the White House just after 3 a.m. ET.

Reporting from ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from a nearly three-hour meeting on the Ukraine war and struck a cordial tone in brief public statements, but left without announcing a ceasefire or peace agreement yesterday.

“There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.

The White House had said there would be a news conference after the closed-door meeting, but both men walked offstage after 12 minutes without taking questions from the scores of American and Russian reporters in attendance.

Trump hosted the summit at a military base in Alaska in an audacious bid to broker a peace deal and stop Russia’s three-year war with Ukraine and its ever-rising body count. It was not immediately clear what was agreed upon in the talks. Trump said the two sides had made “some great progress,” but offered no specifics.

Read the full story here.