preCharge News POLITICS — Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Alaska for high-stakes talks Friday with President Donald Trump, who seeks to negotiate a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Trump greeted Putin on the tarmac of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage shortly after the Russian leader’s plane set down at around 10:50 a.m. local time, or 2:50 p.m. ET. Trump had arrived earlier.

They did not respond as reporters shouted questions.

The two leaders then got into Trump’s armored vehicle, “The Beast,” and drove off.

The talks come as Europe — including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited — watches with bated breath.

The state leaders are set to begin their summit around 11:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. ET) at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska.

There will then be a working lunch for both delegations, before the presidents hold a joint news conference to summarize their talks.

The presser will undoubtedly be one of the most closely watched events of this year, revealing just how near, or far, the end of the war in Ukraine is — a conflict that has spanned more than 3½ years.

“The president wants to exhaust all options to try to bring this war to a peaceful resolution,” the White House stated ahead of the Alaska summit.

It remains to be seen whether those “options” will ultimately be good or bad for Ukraine.

Not only is a ceasefire at stake — if Trump can persuade Putin to agree to one — but so too are Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Europe’s security, Russia’s economy and geopolitical alliances.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has a checkered relationship with Trump and was not invited to the talks, will be nervous as they get underway. On Friday, the president commented on X: “It is time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America.”

I held a Staff meeting to discuss three key issues.

The front, particularly the Pokrovsk sector. We are countering the attempts of Russian forces to gain a foothold and increasing the pressure of our units on the occupier. We are succeeding. Units of the 79th and 82nd Air…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 15, 2025

Both he and his European allies fear the U.S. leader could capitulate to skilled negotiator Putin’s likely demands for Moscow to retain occupied Ukrainian territory and cut short Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations, in return for halting its military offensive.

As he headed off to Alaska on Air Force One, Trump told reporters that “something is going to come of it [the meeting].” When asked about Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine, the president said Putin “thinks that gives him strength in talks, I think it hurts him,” in comments reported by Reuters.

Trump also insisted that Ukraine has to decide about its territory and that security guarantees were “possible along with Europe,” without giving further details.

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Associated Press, CNBC News, Fox News, and preCharge News contributed to this report.