Trump says he wants to see a ceasefire and ‘won't be happy if it's not today'

The Guardian

a day ago

Update:
Date: 2025-08-15T18:01:54.000Z
Title: we are moving to a new blog where my US colleagues will continue our coverage of this event here:
Content: Trump-Putin summit live updates: US and Russian leaders to meet in Alaska to discuss ending Ukraine war
US president says Russia needs to show willingness to seriously talk about the end of the war in Ukraine, as he travels to meeting in Anchorage, Alaska
Jakub Krupa
Fri 15 Aug 2025 18.57 BST
First published on Fri 15 Aug 2025 11.57 BST
From
6.57pm BST
18:57
Jakub Krupa
As we get closer to the start of the Alaska 2025 summit,
Meanwhile, that's all from me, Jakub Krupa in London, for today.
6.44pm BST
18:44
Not long to go now!
If you fancy tracking the Russian government's plane as it approaches Alaska, you can do it here, as it's flying above Anchorage at the moment.
Updated
at 6.46pm BST
6.20pm BST
18:20
Shaun Walker
in Zaporizhzhia
The city of Zaporizhzhia, an industrial hub in south-east Ukraine, is as good a place as any to grasp the stakes of freezing Russia's invasion of Ukraine along its current frontlines, or of implementing a 'land swap for peace' deal as envisioned by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
Plenty of people here and in other Ukrainian towns close to the frontline are so weary of the sleepless nights and disrupted lives of the past years that they are ready for Kyiv to sign a peace deal, even an imperfect one, if it means the attacks will stop.
But many others have a very different opinion because they know first-hand what it means to give Russia control over Ukrainian territory: arrests, disappearances and the erasure of anything Ukrainian. As Moscow moves swiftly to Russify occupied territory, expelling or arresting active members of society and introducing new media outlets and school curricula heavy on propaganda, a few years of Russian control may make it almost impossible for Ukraine to regain these territories at a later date.
About one in five people living in Zaporizhzhia are internally displaced, from places even closer to the frontline or from occupied parts of Ukraine. They are living in Zaporizhzhia until they are able to go home.
On a recent visit to Zaporizhzhia, in a warehouse building where a group of volunteer women were making camouflage nets for the Ukrainian army there was a loud and resolute chorus of 'No!' in response to the question of whether people would be happy to freeze the lines in exchange for peace.
'And what about our homes, our lives, all the things we are waiting to go back for?' asked one of the women, quickly becoming tearful.
Our only hope is for Ukraine to take them back, or we can never go home again.
5.50pm BST
17:50
Meanwhile, Trump posted a new clip from his earlier conversation with reporters on board of Air Force One, giving what is probably his most detailed answer to a question on what will be the measure of success for today's summit.
He said:
'I can't tell you that.
I don't know it's there's nothing set in stone. I want certain things. I want to see a ceasefire.
This is not to do with Europe. Europe's not telling me what to do, but they're going to be involved in the process, obviously, as well Zelensky, but I want to see a ceasefire rapidly.
I don't know if it's going to be today, but I'm not going to be happy if it's not today. Everyone said it can't be today, but I'm just saying I want the killing to stop.
I'm in this to stop the killing. You know, we're not putting up any money. We're making money. They're buying our weapons, and we're sending them to Nato, and Nato is sending us big, beautiful checks.
But that I don't care about. … But what I do care about is they lost last week 7011 people, almost all soldiers; 36 people in a town which got hit by a missile.
Over 7,000 soldiers. It's crazy.'
5.43pm BST
17:43
Patrick Wintour
Diplomatic editor
President Trump has offered to join European forces in giving security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia, but it is premature for Trump to spell out precisely what form they will take, Lord Mandelson, the UK ambassador to Washington has disclosed.
Mandelson is one of the most senior officials to suggest the US will actively protect Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
He added British and European forces would be present on the ground by Ukraine's side to intervene if Russia ever broke the terms of a peace agreement.
Lord Mandelson was speaking at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where he mounted a strong defence of Britain's close relations with the US, including over trade technology and defence.
He said the Putin-Trump summit was not an exercise 'where the Ukrainians have to beg for mercy and give up anything in order to buy an unreasonable peace.'
The aim of the summit, he said, was to achieve 'a rudimentary ceasefire' that leads to trilateral talks between Ukraine Russia and the US
Russia is not going to win this war. If it's going to win this war it would have done so years ago.
He explained 'once an agreement is reached, we in Britain and as Europeans have got to put in place not only monitors of the cease fire but arrangements on the ground that if triggered by a further aggression from Russia would be tripped and we would be there standing at Ukraine's side.'
Mandelson also said Ukrainians had shown the 'sort of bravery that a country like America and a President like Trump admires and wants to be associated with.'
He does not want to be associated with failure and in supporting the Ukrainians he is not.
The UK ambassador to Washington further said that any future negotiations between Ukraine should not be framed as ones between a supplicant and a victor.
'The US President has said it has to be land for peace. The question is how much land and what sort of peace.
That is what we will be watching very carefully, but we know, whatever the settlement, the Ukrainian armed forces need to be rebuilt, reequipped, resupplied, retrained to deal with the future continuing threat hanging over them from Russia – because Putin is not going to go away.'
4.51pm BST
16:51
We earlier brought you the report that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy was waiting to get an update from Ukrainian intelligence services on the situation on the ground (14:52), and that meeting has now ended.
Zelenskyy said that there were reports of active Russian strikes on Ukraine taking place today, saying:
On the day of the negotiations, they are also killing. And this says a lot.
He reiterated his call for 'an honest end to the war,' and said he hoped to see 'a strong American position' during today's talks in Alaska.
4.25pm BST
16:25
Historical references also come up in other countries' reactions ahead of tonight's summit, with leaders of Ukraine's neighbour, Poland, warning against 'Russian imperialism' as a threat facing Europe.
In a social media post ahead of today's commemorations of the 105th anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw – when the Polish army defeated the Red Army near the capital – Poland's new president Karol Nawrocki drew parallels with the situation in Ukraine.
'That is why we will never surrender to Russian imperialism, and why we stand with Ukraine in defending its freedom – to make Europe whole, free, and at peace once again.
Russia is not unstoppable. Russia is not undefeatable.'
He returned to the topic in his speech at the event, which saw a major military parade with 50 military aircraft and 4,000 soldiers from Polish and allied armies and is also a public holiday in Poland.
Nawrocki added that Russia 'lost to Japan at the beginning of the 20th century, it was defeated by the Poles in 1920, and today, for over three years... it has been floundering after its attack on Ukraine,' crediting the allies and Poland for helping Ukrainians.
Similar themes also appeared in comments by Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, who said:
'15 August is a good day for talks with Russia about war and peace. On this day 105 years ago during the Battle of Warsaw Poles stopped the Red Army in its march on Europe.
Luckily we didn't know that Russia 'is invincible' – and we beat them.
Peace through strength, nothing else.'
Both Nawrocki and Tusk took part in the European leaders' consultations ahead of the Alaska summit.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Nawrocki for his comments, saying that 'with a neighbor like Russia, only the cooperation of free nations can effectively protect each of them.'
He said:
'Ukraine's independence strengthens Poland's independence. And we must always remember that the Miracle on the Vistula was made possible through joint efforts, and it saved Europe.
In the same way, Ukrainians have been defending our state in the full scale war for four years. By repelling the Russian army in Ukraine – near Kyiv, in the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions, as well as in the Black Sea – Ukrainians are truly ensuring the opportunity for all Europeans to live freely, free of Moscow's madness.'
Updated
at 4.52pm BST
4.05pm BST
16:05
Meanwhile, the former Obama administration official and former managing editor of Time magazine, Richard Stengel, has objected to reports describing the Alaska summit as 'high-stakes', arguing on social media that it's 'a journalistic cliche' that 'plays into Trump's theatrical framing of the whole artificial made-for-TV 'event''.
Updated
at 4.09pm BST
3.32pm BST
15:32
Pjotr Sauer
Russian affairs reporter
Putin touched down in Russia's far eastern city of Magadan en route to his high-stakes summit with Trump, pausing for what appeared to be a series of trivial meetings with local officials. State media said he discussed the city's urban planning and inspected a plant for processing and refining fish oil.
Such deliberately low-profile stops are a familiar prelude for the Russian leader before major events – a staged display, observers say, meant to project confidence and control ahead of meeting the US president.
But there was also a pointed gesture clearly aimed at charming Trump, as Putin laid flowers at a memorial commemorating US–Soviet cooperation in the second world war.
Trump has in the past praised Russia's military record, and Moscow has said the US leader was 'deeply impressed' by the Soviet Union's wartime losses.
Updated
at 3.51pm BST
3.14pm BST
15:14
Aaand here it is – Trump confirms his 'wonderful' call with Lukashenko, saying 'the purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners,' with 1,300 under discussion.
They also, understandably, discussed the upcoming summit with Putin.
Curiously, Trump's readout also includes a reference to a meeting in the future.
Here is his social media post in full:
I had a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko. The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners. Our conversation was a very good one. We discussed many topics, including President Putin's visit to Alaska. I look forward to meeting President Lukashenko in the future. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Updated
at 3.17pm BST
2.59pm BST
14:59
And the Belarusian news agency Belta has just reported that Trump also spoke with the Belarusian president, Aleksander Lukashenko today.
No more details on the call were reported, and there has been no confirmation on this from the US side (yet?).
Updated
at 3.36pm BST
2.56pm BST
14:56
Looks like we're going to get the first big moment of the summit very early on, as the Kremlin has just announced that US president Trump will formally welcome Russia's Putin at his plane after arriving in Alaska.
2.32pm BST
14:32
Pjotr Sauer
Despite confident trolling from some members of the Russian delegation (13:49), Russia's state press, however, were in a less celebratory mood on arrival at their modest sleeping quarters in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, where the summit will take place.
With hotel space taken up by the influx of international media, Russian reporters were put up in the local ice hockey team's stadium, which had been converted into a Covid hospital during the pandemic and fitted with army beds donated by the Red Cross.
'We are living in Spartan conditions,' one reporter is heard complaining in a clip posted on social media.
1.52pm BST
13:52
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just posted on social media, saying he expects to get a report from the Ukrainian intelligence services today 'on the current intentions of the Russian side and its preparations for the meeting in Alaska.'
Directly responding to Trump's earlier comments (13:19), he then says:
Indeed, high stakes.
He adds:
'The key thing is that 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. We are ready, as always, to work as productively as possible.'
Updated
at 1.54pm BST
1.36pm BST
13:36
Trump also confirms his earlier threat of 'severe' consequences for Russia if it fails to show willingness to seriously talk about the end of war in Ukraine.
He says:
'Economically severe. It will be very severe.
I'm not doing this for my health, okay, I don't need it. I'd like to focus on our country, but I'm doing this to save a lot of lives.
Yeah, very severe.'
He ends the briefing here.
1.34pm BST
13:34
Trump also gets asked about the possibility of the US providing security guarantees to Ukraine.
He says:
'Maybe, along with Europe and other countries.
Not in the form of Nato, because that's not going to, you know, there are certain things that aren't going to happen.
But yeah, along with Europe, there's possibility …'