Trump offers Putin extended duration to intensify pressure on Ukraine in Alaska
Headline: No Breakthrough in Eastern Ukraine Conflict Following Alaska Summit Between Trump and Putin
Subhead: Ongoing hostilities and no ceasefire reflect a stalemate and incremental territorial changes.
The much-anticipated summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, held on August 15, 2025, ended without agreement or ceasefire. The meeting, intended to bring an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, has thus far failed to produce any significant breakthrough.
Russian forces have continued their offensive operations in eastern Ukraine, with limited territorial gains primarily through attritional warfare. Ukrainian forces, on the other hand, have conducted strikes into Russian territory, indicating their continued operational capability.
The conflict, a dynamic war of attrition, has seen Russia capture around 2,400 sq km of territory early in the year, mostly through grinding advances. However, Kyiv continues to defend stubbornly, despite Ukraine slowly losing ground.
Diplomatically, the summit set expectations for further meetings between Putin, Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Yet, Kremlin statements suggest Russia is not ready for serious negotiations and intends to continue fighting.
President Trump has not fully fallen for Putin's tactics, and his Monday meeting with Zelensky may reveal an evolution in their relationship. The demand for a ceasefire, which was the bedrock of European and Ukrainian thinking, has vanished after the meeting.
Putin has until mid-October for his forces to turn "nowhere" villages in eastern Ukraine into a more strategic gain. The horrors outside of the diplomacy tent continue, and the time it would take to bring the parties together for further talks could be all Putin needs on the battlefield to effect real change.
The coming weeks are likely to see tension between Trump and Zelensky, followed by European pressure on Trump to ease off on Zelensky, and potential stalling over a three-way meeting between Trump, Putin, and Zelensky.
The Alaska summit was a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The sanctions have already piled pressure on Putin, causing him to accept the invitation to meet with Trump in Alaska. However, the secondary sanctions Trump has threatened would not stop Putin's war effort this year. It remains unclear if Putin has given up on claiming the rest of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, now partially occupied by Russian forces.
References:
- The New York Times
- BBC News
- The Guardian
- The Washington Post
- CNN
In light of the stalemate in diplomatic efforts, Europe's general news media outlets have reported on the persisting war-and-conflicts in eastern Ukraine, with politics playing a significant role in the ongoing hostilities. The war, involving Russia and Ukraine, continues to impact the world, with Russia's offensive operations causing incremental territorial changes. Despite Trump's Monday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the demand for a ceasefire, once the bedrock of European and Ukrainian thinking, appears to have vanished.
