President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska for a high-stakes summit over ending the war in Ukraine. Nancy Cordes and Margaret Brennan have coverage and analysis.

Anchorage

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska for a summit focused on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the state of US-Russia relations. Both leaders described the meeting as productive and indicated progress was made, but no formal agreement was announced. The summit featured a military flyover and included top officials from both countries. 

The leaders made brief statements but did not take questions from the press, and the talks concluded earlier than expected. While both sides acknowledged the importance of Ukraine's security, there was no announcement of a ceasefire or concrete next steps. The outcome of the summit and the potential for future meetings, including with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, remain unclear.

What we know about the high-stakes summit between Trump and Putin

As you say, Maurice, good evening. The two leaders say they had a productive meeting and made progress in their talks. President Putin said they reached an understanding. President Trump was quick to say there's no deal until there's a deal, and said he would have discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and America's NATO allies. They took no questions from the press. The summit began with a warm handshake. Mr. Trump and Putin clasped hands and smiled like old chums on the red carpet. There was a military flyover, which included several F-35s and a B-2 stealth bomber that was flown in from an Air Force base in Missouri. President Trump was joined at the talk by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff. Putin was joined by two of his top foreign policy advisors. We are now joined by Nancy Cordes at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the site of the summit. John, before these talks even got underway, President Trump said there were two possible outcomes. One, that the meetings would go well and that he would appear at the podiums behind me with Vladimir Putin to do a joint news conference. Two, the meetings would go badly and he would do a press conference by himself and head home to Washington, D.C. In the end, neither of those came to pass. Instead, after just a few hours, President Trump and Vladimir Putin emerged from their meetings, took the stage behind me, spoke for a combined 12 minutes, made vague comments about the fact that they could work together well and that progress had been made, and then they left without taking questions. Take a listen to what they both had to say about how things went today. I'm going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened, but we had an extremely productive meeting and many points were agreed to. There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant. But we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there. And I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well. Naturally, we are prepared to work on that. I would like to hope that the agreement that we've reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine. We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won't throw a wrench in the works. They will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings or to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress. And so, it is unclear why these meetings wrapped up early after these two leaders traveled all this way to Alaska. It is unclear how close, if at all, they got to a ceasefire, something that Putin has been resisting for years. And it is unclear where the two leaders go from here. Is there going to be another summit that includes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky? These are questions that we are asking the White House. We haven't gotten any information yet, John. What is clear is that it is unclear. Nancy Cordes traveling with the president. Thank you so much, Nancy. We're joined now by Face the Nation moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent, Margaret Brennan. Margaret, what did you make of that? Well, you know, John, I was just looking at what the president said in an interview right before he began the talks, and he said, I won't be happy unless I walk away with a ceasefire. I don't think he walked away with a ceasefire, none that he told the world about, certainly none that Vladimir Putin acknowledged. In fact, Vladimir Putin talked about renewing a businesslike relationship, said, you know, they have a trustworthy relationship now. This seemed more about patching up frayed diplomatic ties between the two countries that—just to remind everyone—had been frayed because Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led the Biden administration to pile sanctions on Russia and really try to isolate it and punish them. President Trump has the opportunity to put more on him. That's what brought Putin to this negotiating table. We also didn't hear that he will face consequences for failing to agree. Do we get that in the coming hours? We're waiting. Right. The other thing we were looking for was whether there would be, as the president promised beforehand, another quick follow-on meeting that would include Vladimir Zelensky. No talk of that. No. And there were plans in place already. Talk of locations. You know, U.S. officials were chatting to me about that. Where would they go, and would it be here, or would it be in Europe? We don't know yet. If it's worth it, certainly there was no mention of any of the things that had been articulated on those multiple conference calls with European leaders by the vice president in the last few days, things like security guarantees for Ukraine. If they don't enter NATO, well, who in Europe? And does the U.S. participate in saying, well, we'll defend you, at least for the remaining part of your country, that Russia hasn't already eaten up? We've been showing that map with the 20 percent of territory that Russian forces currently hold. There is—there are small patches there. Ukraine is still in. But U.S. intelligence assesses this war is turning in Russia's favor. And that is why the idea of buying time matters.

For the first time in a decade, Vladimir Putin was on U.S. soil for a much-anticipated meeting with Donald Trump. The U.S. and Russian presidents were supposed to discuss a deal to put an end to Moscow’s war against Ukraine, but they did not mention a ceasefire after the talks.

Trump, Putin wrap up talks with no mention of ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin have arrived in Alaska ahead of their high stakes talks on Ukraine. The expected one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin has expanded to include U.S. officials Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio and other Russian officials.

Trump, Putin arrive in Alaska for historic summit

Israel's far-right finance minister approved the construction of a controversial new settlement in the West Bank, saying it "finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state." But it's unclear if this move will actually go through. Rights groups swiftly condemned the plan.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israeli finance minister approves new West Bank settlement

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated in an interview that he hoped to push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward a second meeting but acknowledged there was a chance Friday’s meeting would not succeed.

Washington

Trump shifts tone, confident on deal to end Ukraine war

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalei Smotrich said a plan to add more than 3,000 homes to a controversial settlement in the West Bank would bury ‘the idea of a Palestinian state.’

Israel furthers plan for settlement that divides the West Bank

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. This comes one day before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.

London

Zelenskyy, Starmer meet ahead of Trump, Putin summit in Alaska

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump sounded optimistic about his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump says he thinks Putin and Zelenskyy will make peace

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans to build another immigrant detention center, dubbing it the "Deportation Depot." The facility will be in North Florida.

Jacksonville

DeSantis announces plan to build another immigrant detention center

President Trump had a virtual call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. After the call, Zelenskyy said he told Mr. Trump that "Putin is bluffing."

Ukraine's Zelenskyy warns President Trump ahead of meeting with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would ask the Republican-controlled Congress to extend federal control of Washington's city police force beyond 30 days, escalating his campaign to exert presidential power over the nation's capital.

Trump wants to extend federal control over Washington police

With just hours left to reach a deal on plastics, negotiators in Geneva were scrambling to resolve a deadlock caused by “red lines” of member countries. Nations are crafting the first global, legally binding treaty on plastics pollution at the United Nations office in Switzerland.

Geneva

Global plastics treaty talks in Geneva stall as deadline looms

At least 123 people have been killed in 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says people will be given the opportunity to leave Gaza before a planned ground offensive, but no one is being pushed out.

Israeli strikes pound Gaza ahead of planned ground offensive

America's NATO allies stood firmly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The European leaders showed a united front that there should be no peace deal without Ukraine's involvement.

Kyiv

NATO allies stand with Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin summit

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must improve conditions for detainees at New York's 26 Federal Plaza, a judge ruled Tuesday.

New York

Judge rules ICE must improve conditions for detainees at NY facility

National Guard troops arrived in Washington, D.C., following President Donald Trump's deployment and federalization of local police to crack down on crime in the nation's capital.

National Guard troops arrive in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had a "very good call" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, days before his scheduled Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump had 'very good call' with Zelenskyy ahead of Putin meeting

Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has approved the framework of a plan for a new offensive in Gaza. CBS News Middle East reporter Courtney Kealy has more details.

Israeli military chief approves 'framework' for new Gaza offensive

President Donald Trump said Wednesday there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday’s summit.

Trump warns of 'severe consequences' if Russia doesn't stop war

A Wisconsin woman on Tuesday was found guilty in the United Kingdom of trying to kill a man at point-blank range in 2019. Aimee Betro, 45, was part of a plot with two other co-conspirators to murder Sikander Ali, prosecutors said.

Birmingham

American woman found guilty of UK murder-for-hire plot

Record-high temperatures across Europe are fanning wildfires across the continent. Experts say a warming climate and an increase in flammable vegetation from rural depopulation are major factors.

Madrid

Historic heat fuels fires across Europe

Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán said the EU attempts to set conditions for a meeting to which leaders of the EU were not invited. He also called for an EU-Russia summit.

Brussels

EU leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin talks

President Trump said Monday he expects that Russia and Ukraine will "land swap" certain territories as part of an eventual ceasefire deal. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Trump claims 'land swapping' between Russia, Ukraine will happen

Taylor Swift confirmed her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," in a teaser for her upcoming appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast. Swift did not disclose the release date of the album.

Taylor Swift announces new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl'

U.S. President Donald Trump said that his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday will be to "feel out" the leader as pressure mounts for Russia and Ukraine to make a peace deal.

What we know about the high-stakes summit between Trump and Putin

Breakdown

See The Full Story

Ukraine Invasion