On August 15, 2025, the world’s attention turned to Anchorage, Alaska, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived for a high-stakes summit aimed at ending the grinding war in Ukraine. The air was thick with anticipation—and skepticism—as leaders, analysts, and citizens across continents weighed the prospects and pitfalls of this audacious diplomatic gamble.
The summit, held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. ET), according to Al Jazeera. Security was at its highest, with Secret Service agents meticulously inspecting box lunches and the military base itself serving as a reminder of its Cold War legacy. As NBC News pointed out, the base was once a linchpin in America’s defense against the Soviet Union, and its selection as the venue carried a weighty symbolism—one not lost on Russian commentators who saw it as a nod to the historic ties between the two nations.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov previewed a potentially lengthy and elaborate meeting, estimating it could last at least six to seven hours. "We are proceeding on the assumption that there will first be a one-on-one conversation. It turns out that this will be attended by aides. Then there will be negotiations between the delegations, possibly in the form of a working lunch. Then the leaders will leave for a while and then gather for a joint press conference," Peskov told Russian state media.
President Trump, departing from Andrews Airbase outside Washington, D.C., signaled that his goal was to get Putin to the table, rather than to broker a comprehensive deal for Ukraine. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, "I’ve got to let Ukraine make that decision," when asked about the possibility of territorial swaps between Russia and Ukraine. He stopped short of promising security guarantees for Ukraine, stating it was a "maybe" and hinting that any such arrangement would not involve NATO. Trump characterized the summit as a "chess game," hoping it would "set the table for the next meeting"—one that might include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the talks.
The exclusion of Zelenskyy and other European leaders from the summit sparked alarm and disappointment. Zelenskyy himself, in a post on X, declared, "This meeting should open up a real path toward a just peace and a substantive discussion between leaders in a trilateral format—Ukraine, the United States, and the Russian side. It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America." European Union leaders echoed this sentiment, stating that "a path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine." British Defense Secretary John Healey told BBC radio, "It’s for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to determine the end to the fighting and the terms on which that takes place."
On the ground in Ukraine, skepticism reigned. Reporting from Kramatorsk and Kharkiv, NBC News found that government officials, soldiers, and civilians doubted the efficacy of talks that excluded them. Artem Reshetilov, a Ukrainian soldier mourning his brother killed by Russian artillery, warned, "We don’t have to compromise with the enemy and give up our beloved land because this enemy won’t stop." Many Ukrainians fear that any ceasefire could merely serve as a pause, allowing Russia to regroup and strike again. Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed these doubts, telling MSNBC, "Is ceasefire an attainable goal? Yes, it is. Is the end to the war in Ukraine attainable at this point? No, it is not."
Pro-Ukraine protesters gathered in Anchorage, voicing their disapproval of the summit and Zelenskyy’s exclusion. One demonstrator summed up the mood: "I have no hope." Meanwhile, in Moscow, some expressed cautious optimism, with one woman telling NBC News she would "like for all of this to end," but admitting she didn’t trust those leading the negotiations.
Putin arrived in Alaska after stops in Russia’s Far East, where he met with young hockey players and visited a fish oil plant in Magadan. His delegation included seasoned diplomats and business figures, signaling Moscow’s interest in sanctions relief and renewed economic ties. Trump, for his part, told reporters he had heard Putin was "bringing a lot of businesspeople" to the summit but insisted, "no business will be conducted until the war concludes."
As the summit began, the military situation in Ukraine remained dire. Russian forces had made incremental gains on the battlefield, but at a staggering human cost. Ukrainian troops, outnumbered and exhausted, continued to resist, while Russian drone strikes killed seven civilians and injured 17 more the night before the summit, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine, in turn, reported sinking a vessel carrying Iranian military supplies to Russia.
The diplomatic landscape was equally fraught. Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told MSNBC that the very act of meeting with Putin on American soil was "already a victory" for the Russian president, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., dismissed the summit as a "photo-op" that "legitimizes war crimes [and] telegraphs to other autocrats or evil men around the world that they can get away with murdering civilians and still get a photo-op with the president of the United States." Paul Whelan, a Marine wrongfully detained in Russia, called the summit "a fool’s errand," warning, "There’s no reason that we should trust him, and we shouldn’t legitimize a despotic leader like Vladimir Putin."
Public opinion in the United States reflected these divisions. A Wall Street Journal poll found that only 41% of registered voters approved of Trump’s handling of the war, with 51% disapproving. A Pew Research Center survey showed 59% of Americans lacked confidence in Trump’s decision-making on Russia. However, support for U.S. financial aid to Ukraine was on the rise, with 58% of respondents favoring additional assistance.
As the leaders sat down for what was expected to be a marathon negotiation, the world watched—and waited. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy captured the stakes in an interview with Fox News: "It’s really a just peace that I think we’re all looking at. If we can get this thing taken care of and wrapped up with President Trump, President Putin and then President Zelenskyy, I think it bodes well for the world." He added, "We got our fingers crossed. We’ll see how this goes in terms of outcomes. But the world is watching. The world is watching Alaska."
With the future of Ukraine hanging in the balance, the Anchorage summit may prove to be a pivotal moment—one that could either open a path toward peace or deepen the divisions that have defined this brutal conflict.
