Trump and Putin to meet for showdown summit on Ukraine
The US President and Russia's dictator are due to start discussions at around 11am local time (8pm BST) joined only by their translators. The pair previously met during Trump's first term, in 2018, but have since spoken on the phone in Trump's attempt to end the illegal invasion of Ukraine - which the US leader previously vowed to end within '24 hours' of becoming President.
Trump raised eyebrows this week after he left Volodymyr Zelensky out of the crucial talks into the future peace of Ukraine.
Although he spoke to European leaders on the phone ahead of this meeting, fears have circled about the President's approach to leave Ukraine out of the talks and meet a dictator who has been iced out of the international community.
13:05 KEY EVENT
Trump was seen pulling a stern face as he waved before boarding Air Force One for his seven hour flight. Trump boarding Air Force One (Image: Getty Images)
12:40 KEY EVENT
The US President has started his 7+ hour journey to Anchorage as he left the White House at 7.31am local time (12.31 UK time).
12:36 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Sergei Lavrov spoke to Russian media while in Alaska ahead of todays summit.
Lavrov arrived ahead of Putin and Trump and was oddly seen wearing a jumper with USSR written on it.
Putin's puppet said: "We never make any assumptions in advance. We know we have an argument, we have a clear and well-defined position, and we will present it.
"A lot has already been done here during Witkoff's visits. And Witkoff spoke on behalf of President Trump. I hope that we will continue this very useful conversation. Sergei Lavrov wearing a USSR jumper and talking to a reporter in Alaska (Image: Telegram)
12:19 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Both leaders will bring a small but important team along with them to Alaska.
Trump is set to bring: Secretary of state Marco Rubio
Secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick
CIA director John Ratcliffe
Putin will bring five men to Alaska: Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov
Defence Minister Andrei Belousov
Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev
12:09 KEY EVENT
Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to share a short message before the President travels to Alaska to meet Putin for the first time in seven years.
The President wrote: "HIGH STAKES!!!"
He is shortly expected to board a plane for his seven hour flight to Anchorage, Alaska.
11:59 KEY EVENT
Defence Secretary John Healey has said the UK is ready to "put boots on the ground" in Ukraine.
Healey revealed the government could put troops in Ukraine to help reinforce a ceasefire, if one is agreed on, ahead of todays summit.
The defence secretary also warned that the government would be ready to "step up economic sanctions and pressure" on Putin if he "really isn't serious" in todays Alaska showdown.
This comes after Trump yesterday said there was a 25% chance his meeting with the despot would "not be successful".
11:43 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Donald Trump warned Vladimir Putin he will face severe consequences if he walks away from their Alaska summit without an end to Ukraine's illegal invasion.
Trump, after being asked what would be the outcome if Putin refuses to stop the killing, said: "Very severe consequences."
When pushed on what these consequences would be, he said: "I don't have to say." He added: "If I do not get the necessary answers during the meeting with Putin, there will be no next meeting."
This comes after Kyiv said the Russian dictator was bluffing about his willingness to end the horror war. Trump and Putin shaking hands in 2018 (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
11:26 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
A major explosion struck a Russian weapons and ammunition plant - killing and injuring dozens of workers - ahead of a crucial summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
Dramatic images caught the moment a huge explosion went off in the gunpowder workshop at the Elastik plant in Ryazan.
Initial reports said five people were killed, 20 injured and more than 100 people were evacuated from the burning plant. Local Russian news outlets reported the whole warehouse was completely destroyed after the huge explosion.
It is unclear whether the plant was hit in a deliberate attack, a Ukrainian drone strike or an accident at the site.
Read the full story here. A huge major at a Russian weapons and ammunition plant (Image: social media; east2west news)
10:54 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Vladimir Putin was seen making a stopover in the gulag city of Magadan before jetting off to Alaska.
The dictator is in the far eastern part of Russia for a "full-fledged regional trip" before his meeting with Trump. A Kremlin spokesperson said: "The city is important. Putin has been there many times, even when he was prime minister."
The flight from Magadan to Anchorage, Alaska, takes around four hours. Putin's car surrounded by a fleet of security vehicles in Magadan (Image: social media; east2west news)
10:35 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Locals have rallied in Alaska as they protest Trump and Putin's meeting in their state.
People waved blue and yellow flags as they held placards with messages of support for Ukraine. Ukraine supporters gather in a demonstration ahead of Putin and Trumps meeting (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
10:22 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
The US leader has suggested he could meet Putin a second time, before his in-person talk with the despot.
Trump described a potential second meeting with the evil dictator as "more important" as he suggested Zelensky could be present for those talks.
Ukraine's leader was surprisingly left out of today's meeting as Trump talks to Russia's dictator hours after European leaders met with Zelensky. Trump suggested some of Europe's leaders could be invited to this supposed second meeting.
Yesterday, Trump said: "We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelenskyy, myself and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders."
10:04 KEY EVENT
Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was pictured stepping down in Alaska ahead of the dictators meeting with Trump.
A Russian news outlet shared footage of the Putin puppet walking into his hotel in Anchorage. Lavrov was bizarrely seen wearing a jumper that said CCCP - the Cyrillic writing for USSR. Sergei Lavrov walking into his hotel in Anchorage (Image: REN TV)
09:42 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
The leaders are set to meet at the remote Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.
Trump has previously visited this miliatry base - the biggest in Alaska - several times during his first term, but this will be his first time back since his November win.
A White House official said having the meeting on the Alaskan base woulkd make it easier for the US President to keep the trip just one day long, according to The New York Times.
The decision to hold this meeting in Alaska is significant as the US purchased the oil rich state from the Russian Empire 158 years ago. Alaska is also just less than three miles away from Russia, at its closest point to Putin's land.
09:29 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Protestors have stepped out ahead of Putin's visit to Anchorage, for a crucial meeting with Trump. Protestors waving Ukrainian flags in protest ahead of Putin's visit (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Locals were seen waving Ukrainian flags and holding signs saying "Alaska stand with Ukraine".
09:24 Sophie Huskisson
Vladimir Putin has been given a warning by the UK ahead of a crucial face-to-face summit today with Donald Trump.
Speaking just hours before the talks, the UK Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain is prepared "to step up diplomatic and economic pressure" if Putin fails to act.
The Cabinet minister told Times Radio: "The pressure now is on Putin to prove he wants peace. Today is a test of that. And we have worked hard in the run-up to this meeting in Alaska - intensifying diplomacy, stepping up military aid and being ready to step up economic pressure on Putin if he's not willing to act as he says he will."
Mr Healey added: "Our first priority is to continue to stand with Ukraine, to step up diplomatic pressure and economic pressure on Putin but also to keep a focus on the front line, while all eyes are on Alaska, because we can't jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war."
The Cabinet minister said today's face-to-face talks between Mr Trump and Putin was a "first step towards serious negotiation" in bringing the conflict to an end, adding that "talking" was the only way to solve a war, not "fighting".
He shot down a question asking whether Britain's role was to "watch and wait", as he said the Government was leading the charge in military planning for a possible ceasefire and supplying military aid to the war-torn country.
Read the full story here.
09:20 Elizabeta Ranxburgaj
Donald Trump yesterday hit back at questions around whether the US President had a "strong hand" going into these talks.
The President said: "Well, he came to our country." Trump then made a bizzare claim about what could have happened if he wasn't the leader of the US, despite failing on his pre-election promise of ending the illegal invasion within 24 hours of his second term.
Trump said: "I think if I weren't president, he would take over all of Ukraine, it's a war that should have never happened.
"If I weren't president, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine but I am president and he's not going to mess around with me."
09:07 KEY EVENT
A fleet of armoured limos were seen escorting Vladimir Putin to the Pacific Coast ahead of his flight to Alaska for today's peace talks.
Images showed the row of black cars being flanked by flashing police cars through Russian streets. Vladimir Putin in a fleet of armoured vehicles on his journey to the US (Image: social media; east2west news)
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