Donald Trump wants to get Putin, Zelenskyy together 'immediately' if Alaska summit goes well
The US president and his Kremlin counterpart are due to hold in-person talks at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on Friday, local time.
Mr Trump is searching for a way to end the war in Ukraine, which has raged since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and is adamant his country has given too much financial and military aid to Kyiv.
Despite some concerns from European leaders and Mr Zelenskyy, who aren't invited to Alaska, they've also made clear their hopes that the summit is a step towards a just peace.
Speaking in Washington DC on Wednesday, Mr Trump said: "If the first one goes OK, we'll have a quick second one."
"I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they'd like to have me there."
The White House has previously downplayed Friday's talks as "a listening exercise".
However, after speaking to Mr Trump in a video conference on Wednesday, multiple European leaders claimed the US president was aiming to broker a ceasefire when he meets Mr Putin.
"President Trump was very clear that the United States wanted to achieve a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska," French President Emmanuel Macron said after the call.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US president would make a ceasefire a "priority" in the discussions with Mr Putin.
Ahead of the video conference, Mr Trump posted on his Truth social media platform, and described European leaders as "great people" who "want to see a deal done".
Mr Zelenskyy said he warned Mr Trump on the call that "Putin is bluffing" and pointed out fighting on the front lines in his country remained ferocious.
"Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine," he told media at a press conference in Berlin.
Later, he posted his list of principles on the encrypted messaging service, Telegram that he claimed had been "agreed on" during the call, which were:
After the call with Mr Trump, the so-called coalition of the willing, which includes key Kyiv allies, met virtually.
European powerbrokers and NATO officials were on it, but the ABC understands Australia, which has previously been involved in similar discussions, was not.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-chaired that meeting, and reiterated his stance that international borders must not be changed by force.
Russia's president has been shunned by Western leaders since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The EU supplies billions of dollars in financial and military aid to Ukraine and political leaders on the continent have consistently backed Mr Zelenskyy's resistance to cede territory to Russia.
While the front lines have remained largely frozen for months, Moscow's forces have made some progress, at an enormous cost.
Neither country releases official figures on its casualties, but it has been claimed about 500 Russian soldiers are being killed each day at the moment.
Earlier this week, Mr Putin's troops breached some positions near the coal mining town of Dobropillia, although Ukrainian war bloggers claim they're now being pushed back.
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ABC News
11 minutes ago
- ABC News
Military, MAGA and 'anti-government extremist' links behind shadowy Gaza aid agency GHF
The American security contractor listed his new employer as "confidential" but spelled out details of the job online. Michael Reynolds was working on a project he described as a "US-Israel partnership". According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously held a senior role with what a prominent US civil rights legal centre claimed was an "anti-government extremist organisation". In May, Mr Reynolds became a security contractor for a "humanitarian aid program" in Gaza. Further online searches by the ABC identified Mr Reynolds as an employee of UG Solutions, a security provider for a mysterious aid agency embroiled in international controversy. The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has supplanted the United Nations as the main provider of aid in Gaza, home to about 2.1 million people. Half a million are on the brink of famine and the rest are experiencing emergency levels of hunger, according to the World Food Programme. As Israel faces a groundswell of international pressure amid growing evidence of starvation — which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disputes — GHF aid hubs have become known among Palestinians, human rights campaigners and UN-appointed experts as "death traps". Almost 800 people were killed near GHF sites in the first eight weeks of operation, the UN says. Critics say GHF's provision of aid at just four sites on a "first come, first served" basis during restricted hours has exposed huge crowds to the risk of deadly encounters with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A former UG Solutions contractor, Anthony Aguilar, went public last month with allegations he witnessed war crimes by IDF soldiers firing on crowds with guns, mortars and tank rounds. Both UG Solutions and GHF denied the claims. A retired US special forces officer, Mr Aguilar said the chequered backgrounds of some security contractors around him fed his concern about a lack of professionalism among those delivering aid in Gaza. Many had been recruited from the ranks of a US military motorcycle club, "Infidels MC", he said. Sami Muamar, a Palestinian-born educator in Brisbane, says he has implored family members living in southern Gaza to avoid the GHF aid site at Khan Younis altogether. Instead, he sends money for them to buy food at inflated prices on the black market. "It costs me a lot of money, we pay probably $50 per kilo of flour right now," he says. "I said I don't want you to risk anybody's life, just to stay home. Israel blocked all aid to Gaza for 11 weeks from March 2 to May 21, banning staff from the UN's own relief agency from entering the strip over contested claims of Hamas infiltration. It says the new scheme stops Hamas profiteering from aid. However, an internal US government analysis reportedly found no evidence of this happening with US aid, findings that were challenged by the White House. US members of Congress have raised concerns about the "militarisation" of aid through GHF's involvement with both the IDF and armed US contractors, and its lack of experience delivering humanitarian aid. Many observers say aid providers should be impartial and independent of military forces. Australian lawyer Chris Sidoti, who co-chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, says the secrecy around GHF raises suspicions about its true purpose. "No one really knows where [GHF] came from, who set it up, whose idea it was, who's funding it, and where they're sourcing their personnel," Mr Sidoti told the ABC. "Except, we do know that a number of the American security guards are former military personnel, so whether that means that they've totally divorced themselves from any contact with the military — or for example with the CIA — is something that no one knows. GHF planned to set up a Swiss bank account option for donors but settled on registration in the secretive US tax haven of Delaware in February. Its executive director, former US Marine Jake Wood, quit before its aid hubs even opened. "I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people, address security concerns about diversion, and complement the work of longstanding NGOs in Gaza," Mr Wood said in a statement. "However, it is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon." He was replaced by Reverend Johnnie Moore, a "close ally" of US President Donald Trump, according to Democrat lawmakers, and a leader of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. GHF claimed to have launched operations with almost $US120 million ($183 million) of funding from "other government donors". Israel denied it was among them, despite reports that the government covertly poured about $US280 million into the GHF "aid mechanism". The US state department approved a $US30m grant to GHF in June, reportedly despite objections from USAID officials, including one who found it failed to meet "minimum technical or budgetary standards". Democrat lawmakers say this is "troubling" and that GHF aid hubs appear to "operate at a reduced capacity at an exorbitant cost" way beyond those of "experienced humanitarian organizations". They have demanded an investigation of GHF and say full disclosure of its funding is "imperative". GHF runs its aid hubs in Gaza with two private American firms — Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions — providing security and logistics. The online footprints of some of these contractors offer a glimpse of GHF's close alignment with the US and Israeli governments. They are also a window into the backgrounds of some of those now responsible for delivering most of the aid in Gaza. According to his LinkedIn profile, contractor Michael Reynolds's role with UG Solutions includes ensuring "the safety and operational continuity of US and Israeli personnel". It also involves following "US Department of State and host nation security directives" and coordinating "closely with multinational military [and] governmental partners". Anthony Aguilar told the ABC that he recognised Mr Reynolds as one of those providing "static site" security for GHF in southern Gaza. He said Mr Reynolds's role was "crowd control" and that he was "armed with a fully automatic rifle, a combat pistol, stun grenades, tear gas and riot baton". Mr Reynolds previously worked for Mayhem Solutions Group, an Arizona-based security and intelligence outfit that was involved in reconnaissance patrols of the Mexican border and was associated with the hard right of US President Donald Trump's MAGA movement. Mr Reynolds was "vice-president of global risk solutions" for Mayhem when it was alleged to be an "anti-government extremist organisation" by the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC) in 2022. SPLC has been monitoring and taking legal action against extremist groups since the 1970s, and partnered with law enforcement including the FBI. SPLC's claims about Mayhem would place it in the same category as militias such as the Oath Keepers, whose leader was jailed for seditious conspiracy over the January 6 insurrection in Washington before Mr Trump pardoned him. Mayhem was reportedly paid up to $US20 million by a Texas state contractor to help transport immigrants and asylum seekers interstate in what a whistleblower claimed were "disgusting and inhuman" conditions. Mayhem also shared intelligence and data on border crossings with The America Project, an organisation that was co-founded by former Trump national security advisor Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and funded political candidates who denied the results of the 2020 US election. SPLC claims "anti-government groups" such as Mayhem are "part of the anti-democratic hard-right movement". "They believe the federal government is tyrannical, and they traffic in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government of leftist elites seeking a 'New World Order.'" A spokesman for UG Solutions did not directly address questions about specific employees. He said the company "hires only experienced professionals — primarily former US Special Operations Forces and intelligence personnel — who have demonstrated years of operational excellence". "Each individual undergoes extensive vetting, reference checks, and must meet our stringent standards for weapons proficiency and operational conduct prior to deployment, including qualifying on their weapons. "Every team member undergoes comprehensive background checks, and only qualified, vetted individuals are deployed on UG Solutions operations." UG Solutions's chief executive is a former US Army Special Forces soldier and its "head of talent acquisition" was an army counterintelligence officer. Neither man could be reached by phone. The ABC spoke briefly to a former US Army staff sergeant employed by UG Solutions as an "international humanitarian security officer". "I can't give a comment at this time, thank you." GHF's other security provider, Safe Reach Solutions, was founded by former senior CIA operative Philip Reilly. Mr Reilly was the deputy chief of Operation Jawbreaker, the CIA's response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and was then among the first US agents on the ground in Afghanistan, where he became chief of "the largest [CIA] station in the world at the time". Until last December, he was also a senior adviser at Boston Consulting Group, where two senior partners reportedly met with Israeli officials to work out how GHF would operate and set prices for the security contractors. Boston sacked the partners in June, saying the work for GHF was "unauthorised". Mr Reilly's employees now include a former Pentagon official who led a review of close-combat operations during the first Trump presidency, a former US State Department official who became an Air Force intelligence officer, and a former US Army logistics officer who advised the Palestinian Authority on vehicle and small arms maintenance. For all that, the US members of Congress demanding an investigation say they have "serious concerns" that GHF and its partners, with no prior humanitarian experience … could become the sole or primary aid provider in Gaza". Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia's spokesperson on the occupied Palestinian territories, says GHF is an "illegitimate and inhumane aid agency" that was never going to replace the work of others in Gaza, including the UN's relief agencies. "The alarming concern is that GHF puts Israeli forces and possibly paid mercenaries in charge of aid delivery," he says. "Humanitarian aid principles should never be politicised or weaponised." Mr Duar offers the grim prediction that "more people will die from starvation than will die from bombardment to date". The Israeli military campaign has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in almost 22 months, according to the Gaza health ministry. It was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage — 49 of them still held in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive — by Israeli tallies. Mr Sidoti says the failures of GHF raise the possibility that it was merely a ploy to pay lip service to international concerns. "The killings continue. The whole exercise has been an absolute shambles," he says.
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
Zelensky meets Starmer in London; Trump threatens Putin ahead of Alaska talks
Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a 'productive meeting' with Sir Keir Starmer in London ahead of talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska. Don't miss out on the headlines from Europe. Followed categories will be added to My News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a 'productive meeting' with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in London ahead of the talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday. Mr Zelensky was embraced by Sir Keir out the front of 10 Downing Street in central London on Thursday morning (Thursday evening AEST) - they were in discussions for about an hour but details of the talks have remained largely private. The meeting between the two leaders comes ahead of the highly-anticipated meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump in Alaska due to take place on Friday at 11.30am local time (5.30am Saturday AEST) but Mr Zelensky has not been invited. Interpreters will be present at the meeting. — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Ð'олодимир ЗеленÑьаий (@ZelenskyyUa) August 14, 2025 Mr Zelensky posted on X shortly after his meeting with Sir Keir and he thanked the UK and partners for its support. While Sir Keir posted on X a video of the two meeting at Downing Street and wrote: 'Great to see you, my friend @ZelenskyyUa. 'Britain will always stand with Ukraine'. A joint press conference with the Russian and US presidents is due to be held shortly after the talks take place in Alaska. The Russian's aide Yrui Uskakov said in a statement on Thursday: 'Upon concluding the negotiations, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will hold a joint news conference to summarise the outcomes of the discussions. 'Regarding the summit's agenda, it is evident to all that the central topic will be the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, including considerations from the discussions held in the Kremlin on August 6 – as you may recall – with the participation of the US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. 'However, broader issues related to ensuring peace and security, as well as pressing international and regional matters, will also be addressed'. FOLLOW UPDATES: 'SEVERE CONSEQUENCES': TRUMP THREATENS PUTIN AHEAD OF MEETING Donald Trump has threatened 'very severe consequences' for Russia if Vladimir Putin doesn't end its war on Ukraine after Friday's peace summit in Alaska. Speaking at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC to announce its 2025 honorees including Sylvester Stallone, KISS and Gloria Gaynor, Mr Trump said he would be 'very proud' if he could bring an end to the bloody Russia-Ukraine conflict. He will meet with his Russian counterpart in Anchorage on Friday local time and said he hoped a second meeting including Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky could be held soon after. It comes as Mr Zelensky was set to meet with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street on Thursday ahead of Friday's critical meeting. Downing Street has not disclosed what the two leaders will discuss when they meet in central London however the timing of the meeting comes before the highly-anticipated talks in Alaska between Mr Trump and Mr Putin on Friday where a possible ceasefire may be agreed on. 'There's a very good chance we're going to have a second meeting that will be more productive than the first because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing,' Mr Trump said. 'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one, I'd like to do it almost immediately. 'That would be a meeting where perhaps it could be absolutely worked (out).' Mr Trump said he hoped a subsequent meeting could bring an end to the war but said he needed to gauge Mr Putin's willingness during their face-to-face talks. 'Great things can be gained in the first meeting, it's going to be a very important meeting but it's setting the table for the second meeting,' he said. 'If the second meeting takes place. There may be no second meeting because if I feel like it's not appropriate to have it because I didn't get the answers that we have to have then there's not going to be a second meeting.' Mr Trump warned of 'very severe consequences' if the three-year conflict was not resolved. 'If we can save a lot of lives it would be a great thing,' he said. 'I've stopped five wars in the last six months.' Asked if he believed he could convince Mr Putin to stop targeting civilians, Mr Trump was sceptical. 'Well I'll tell you what I've had that conversation with him I've had a lot of good conversations with him and then I go home and see that a rocket hit a nursing home or an apartment building and people are laying dead in the street so I guess the answer to that is no,' he said. It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the US supports security guarantees for the war-torn nation if a peaceful resolution can be reached with Russia. Mr Zelensky, in a joint press conference with German chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), spoke shortly after European leaders held an online meeting with Mr Trump. In comments made after the meeting, Mr Zelensky said that 'there should be a ceasefire first, then security guarantees – real security guarantees,' and that Mr Trump has 'expressed his support'. In a strong show of support for Ukraine by European nations ahead of Mr Trump's meeting with Mr Putin on Friday, Mr Zelensky said he warned the US President that the Russian leader is 'bluffing'. 'Putin is bluffing – he is trying to push forward along the whole frontline,' Mr Zelensky said. 'Putin is also bluffing saying he doesn't care about the sanctions and that they're not working.' Mr Merz said any future meetings between the US and Russia must include Mr Zelensky – he will not be at this week's meeting. 'Ukraine must be at the table when follow-up meetings take place,' Mr Merz said. Mr Merz also said a 'ceasefire must come first' and Mr Zelensky said he wants further sanctions imposed on Russia if the Kremlin fails to commit to a ceasefire. Five key principles have been set out by Mr Zelensky and the European leaders and they were explained to Mr Trump. This includes Russia must agree to a ceasefire, there be security guarantees, Ukraine must be included in future discussions with America and Russia, there should be pressure applied on Russia including sanctions and Russia should not be allowed to quash Ukraine's NATO prospects. The Ukrainian president also confirmed that immediately after Friday's meeting Mr Trump will contact him to discuss details of the meeting with Mr Putin. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also confirmed that the Coalition of the Willing – countries committed to a peace deal in Ukraine – are in a position to help enforce military operations to ensure a ceasefire is enforced if it is announced on Friday. He said Friday's meeting is 'hugely important' and said America is close to negotiating with Russia a 'viable solution' of reaching a ceasefire in the region. US Vice President JD Vance, who is on holiday in the UK, also spoke on Wednesday in front of American troops at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and described the ongoing conflict as a 'terrible war in Russia and Ukraine'. 'You guys are the reason why we can go into a negotiation with strength,' he said. 'You guys are the reason why we have leverage in these conversations with world leaders, because they know that if we cut a deal, it is backed up by the finest fighting force anywhere in the world.' Russia has made rapid advances this week in a narrow but important section of the front line in Ukraine. The AFP data analysis showed that the Russian army took or claimed 110sq km on August 12 compared to the previous day. It was the most since late May 2024. Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk, an eastern city about 20km from the front, said they had low expectations for Trump's meeting with Putin. Artem, a 30-year-old serviceman, said the war would likely continue for 'a long time.' 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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Trump turns history on head with Putin invitation to key US base
Donald Trump is turning history on its head with his Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin -- inviting Russia's leader to land that once belonged to Moscow, and meeting him at a military base that monitored the Soviet Union. The location is all the more striking as Putin is under indictment by the International Criminal Court, with Friday's summit marking the first time he has been allowed in a Western country since he invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The two leaders will meet at Elmendorf Air Force Base, which goes by the motto "Top Cover for North America." Trump has said that Putin suggested the summit and it is unclear to what extent the Republican president thought through the symbolism of the base or Alaska, still yearned for by some Russian nationalists. But George Beebe, the former director of Russia analysis at the CIA, said the Alaska setting showed an emphasis on what unites the two powers -- history and the Pacific Ocean -- rather than on rivalry or the conflict in Ukraine. "What he's doing here is he's saying, 'This is not the Cold War. We're not replaying the series of Cold War summits that took place in neutral states'," said Beebe, now director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, which supports military restraint. "We're entering a new era, not just in the bilateral relationship between Russia and the United States, but also in the role that this relationship plays in the world," he said. Russia had settled Alaska from the 18th century but, struggling to make its colony profitable and crippled by the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II sold it to the United States in 1867. Then secretary of state William Seward was ridiculed for the purchase, dubbed "Seward's Folly" due to the perceived lack of value of Alaska, but the territory later proved to be strategically crucial. The United States rushed to build what became Elmendorf Air Base after imperial Japan seized some of the Aleutian islands following their 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Then with the Cold War, Elmendorf became a key center to observe Soviet movements across the Bering Strait. As recently as nine months ago, an electronic surveillance plane from Elmendorf as well as other US planes scrambled to track Russian planes flying off Alaska's coast. - Mixed takes in Anchorage - With more than 800 buildings and more than 10,000 military personnel, Elmendorf is the largest military installation in Alaska -- and is also known as a refueling stop for the US president and secretary of state when they travel to Asia. In anticipation of Putin's arrival, some local residents have painted Ukrainian flags to place on their roofs, in the off chance that the Russian leader sees them on his aircraft's descent. Putin "is a criminal and he's coming here to a military base. There was a time when that would have been unthinkable," said teacher Lindsey Meyn, 40, as she used spray paint to color a homemade blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag. She said the summit was part of Trump's strategy to "overwhelm with craziness" and distract from other issues. "It's terrifying a little bit. I was thinking, is Trump going to offer our state back to Russia? I don't think that's going to happen but that's the first thing that came to my mind," she said. Alaska's Russian heritage is still visible in isolated ways, including through a domed blue Russian Orthodox cathedral in Anchorage that was built in the 1960s. But Alaska has also become home to Ukrainians, both before and since Putin's invasion. Zori Opanasevych, who has helped resettle 1,300 Ukrainians in Alaska with the non-profit group New Chance Inc., said that people she talked to wanted to hold out hope for the summit. "If there is any way that President Trump can influence Putin to stop the killing, we'll believe in that. We have to believe in that," she said.
