On August 15, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet at a military base in Anchorage for the first time since the start of the war. Prior to this meeting, US, Ukrainian, and EU leaders will coordinate online to ensure that no agreements are made behind Kyiv's back. Large-scale protests against the Kremlin leader's visit are being organized in Alaska. The White House emphasizes that this meeting is necessary to understand Putin's position and that a ceasefire agreement is not expected in the short term.
Trump and Putin will meet at a military base in Alaska
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on August 15 at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base near Anchorage. CNN reported, that US officials had been searching for a safe place to hold the summit for a long time, but due to the peak tourist season and increased security requirements, they settled on this location. The White House initially did not want to host Putin at a US military location, but security considerations outweighed other considerations.
Russia rejected European locations due to the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Putin. Afterward, the Kremlin agreed to a location in the US. According to CNN, Russia proposed holding the meeting during Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow. Thus, the summit will take place in Anchorage despite the difficulty of negotiating the location.
Online meeting between Trump, Zelensky, and EU leaders
Ukraine, the US, and EU countries will hold an online meeting on August 13 at 3:00 p.m. Kyiv time to coordinate their positions ahead of Trump's talks with Putin.
Reuters reported, that the video conference will be attended by the President of Ukraine, the leaders of Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, representatives of the EU and NATO, and the event will be chaired by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. After this session, Trump and US Vice President Jay Dee Vance will hold a separate conversation with European leaders, followed by a “coalition of the willing” format.
Reuters sources reported that some senior European officials fear agreements between the US and Russia without Ukraine's participation, which could prove disadvantageous for Kyiv and Brussels. In particular, they stressed: “We remain coordinated and united on the European side. There is still a lot of time until Friday.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for his part, called the summit a clarification of positions, not a concession by Trump to Putin on the war in Ukraine.
Cyberattack on U.S. Court Systems: Russian hackers suspected
American investigators have determined that Russia may be involved in a cyberattack on the US federal court document storage system, The New York Times reports, citing sources. The vulnerable data includes extremely sensitive material, particularly regarding criminal cases, national security, and defendants with Russian and Eastern European surnames. According to sources, the hacking attacks have been going on for years and may have involved other countries, although the exact responsibility has not yet been established.
Reaction from court administrations: The Justice Department, clerks, and judges have been warned to remove the most sensitive cases from the general system. Federal officials have taken active steps to address cyber vulnerabilities, particularly with regard to the electronic document management system and PACER.
Protests in Anchorage: "Alaska supports Ukraine."
The Stand UP Alaska organization announced a protest for August 14 in downtown Anchorage with the slogan "Alaska supports Ukraine." Stand UP Alaska Executive Director Erin Jackson-Hill explained that participants oppose Putin's invitation to the United States and consider him a war criminal. The protest clearly emphasizes: "No peace agreement can be made without Ukraine's participation."
The protest will take place at two of the city's busiest intersections and conclude with a press conference on August 15. Stand UP Alaska's last protest drew about 7,000 people, so organizers expect significant support.
Russia announced the agenda for the meeting between Trump and Putin
Alexei Fadeev from the Russian Foreign Ministry told The Guardianthat the summit between Trump and Putin would allow them to discuss “all the accumulated issues” in bilateral relations. He called the meeting important for ensuring “international peace and stability,” while describing consultations with European countries as “insignificant.” Fadeev also confirmed the participation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the summit.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added that establishing dialogue with Washington had caused discontent among "certain circles," sarcastically describing their reaction as "as if they had been sprinkled with holy water; they are writhing and crawling out from under the rocks."
White House: Summit with Putin is a “listening exercise” for the president
White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt told Reuters, that Trump's meeting with Putin on August 15 is a “listening exercise” for the president. According to Levitt, only Russia, one side of the daily conflict, is participating in the summit so Trump can assess the positions and understand the prospects for ending the war.
"Only one side involved in this war will be present, so the president must go and get a firmer and better understanding of how we can hopefully end this war. This is a listening exercise for the president," Levitt emphasized.
She also noted that the format of the meeting explains why Ukraine or the EU were not invited and added that the summit was held at a military base due to the limited number of safe locations available during tourist season.
Photo: ctvnews.ca
Author: Danylo Pievchev