From 1h ago 17.13 BST Putin demands Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war Pjotr Sauer At the Alaska summit, Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks told the Guardian. Although Luhansk is almost entirely under Russian control, Ukraine still holds key parts of Donetsk, including the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and heavily fortified positions whose defence has cost tens of thousands of lives. Putin told Trump that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk, he would halt further advances and freeze the frontline in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces occupy significant areas. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently rejected giving up territory, and on Saturday, European allies reaffirmed that Ukraine’s borders must not be altered through force. Share Updated at 18.07 BST

14m ago 17.57 BST Dan Sabbagh Ukraine’s president has said he will fly to Washington on Monday to meet Donald Trump following the Alaska summit amid speculation that the US president will ask him to cede territory to end the war. Next week’s meeting will mark the first return to the White House for Volodymyr Zelenskyy since his infamous row with Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, in the Oval Office in February. “President Trump informed [me] about his meeting with the Russian leader and the main points of their discussion,” Zelenskyy wrote, following an hourlong, one-to-one phone call after Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy did not spell out the key points of discussion between Trump and Putin. Later, the president’s chief communications adviser said they “haven’t heard anything” about a possible air ceasefire before a trilateral summit, a proposal posted on social media by a journalist. Trump told Fox News after the summit that the swapping of territory in Ukraine was discussed with Putin – something Zelenskyy has repeatedly ruled out. For the full story, click here: Zelenskyy may be asked to cede land to Russia at Trump meeting in Washington Read more Share Updated at 18.05 BST

37m ago 17.35 BST European leaders have been invited to Monday’s meeting with Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House although it remains to be seen who would attend, Reuters reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Following Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Trump briefed Zelenskyy on his conversation with the Russian president. Trump’s call with Zelenskyy lasted over an hour and a half and European and Nato leaders also joined. “The impression is he wants a fast deal at any price,” a source familiar with the conversation told Reuters. The source added that Trump told Zelenskyy that Putin had offered to halt fighting on the frontlines elsewhere as part of a peace deal if Ukraine fully withdrew its troops from eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions – which Zelenskyy said was not possible. Reuters further reports that Trump and US special envoy Steve Witkoff told Zelenskyy that Putin said there could be no ceasefire before that happened and that Putin could pledge not to launch any new attacks against Ukraine as part of a peace agreement. Share

1h ago 17.13 BST Putin demands Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war Pjotr Sauer At the Alaska summit, Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks told the Guardian. Although Luhansk is almost entirely under Russian control, Ukraine still holds key parts of Donetsk, including the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and heavily fortified positions whose defence has cost tens of thousands of lives. Putin told Trump that in exchange for Donetsk and Luhansk, he would halt further advances and freeze the frontline in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces occupy significant areas. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently rejected giving up territory, and on Saturday, European allies reaffirmed that Ukraine’s borders must not be altered through force. Share Updated at 18.07 BST

1h ago 16.51 BST Trump supports Ukrainian land cession as part of peace plan – report Following his meeting with Vladimir Putin on Friday, Donald Trump told European leaders that he supported a plan to end the Ukraine-Russia war by ceding unconquered land to Russia, the New York Times reported, citing two senior European officials. The officials said Trump will discuss the plan with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday when the Ukrainian president visits the White House, adding that European leaders have been invited to join. Reports of Trump supporting a potential land cession marks a shift in Trump’s previous demands of an immediate ceasefire. According to the New York Times, Trump believes a peace deal can be swiftly negotiated, “so long as Mr Zelenskyy agrees to cede the rest of the Donbas region to Russia, even those areas not occupied by Russian troops”. Speaking to the outlet, senior officials said that Putin in return offered a ceasefire across the rest of Ukraine at current battle lines and a written promise to not attack Ukraine or any other European country again. Share Updated at 16.55 BST

2h ago 16.29 BST Pjotr Sauer Russia’s reaction to Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska has been nothing short of jubilant, with Moscow celebrating the fact that the Russian leader met his US counterpart without making concessions and now faces no sanctions despite rejecting Trump’s ceasefire demands. “The meeting proved that negotiations are possible without preconditions,” wrote former president Dmitry Medvedev on Telegram. He added that the summit showed that talks could continue as Russia wages war in Ukraine. Trump entered the high-stakes summit warning, “I won’t be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire,” and threatening “severe consequences” if Moscow refused to cooperate. But after a three-hour meeting with the Russian side that yielded no tangible results, Trump shelved his threats and instead insisted that the meeting was “extremely productive”, even as Putin clung to his maximalist demands for ending the war and announced no concessions on the battlefield, where Russian forces are consolidating key gains in eastern Ukraine. For the full story, click here: Russia jubilant after Putin leaves Trump summit without making concessions Read more Share Updated at 16.51 BST

2h ago 16.26 BST Putin: Alaska visit was ‘useful and timely’ Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has said that his visit to Alaska was “useful and timely,” the Russian news agency TASS reported on Saturday. Putin also added that his conversation with Trump was “sincere and substantive”, adding that Russia respects the position of the US and also wants to settle the Ukrainian conflict peacefully. View image in fullscreen Donald Trump greets Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on 15 August 2025. Photograph: Kremlin/UPI/Shutterstock Share Updated at 16.52 BST