Russian President Putin speeches during their joint press conference with U.S. Persident Donald Trump after their meeing on war in Ukraine at U.S. Air Base In Alaska on August 15, 2025, in Anchorage,

By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) -In a few short hours in Alaska, Vladimir Putin managed to convince Donald Trump that a Ukraine ceasefire was not the way to go, stave off U.S. sanctions, and spectacularly shatter years of Western attempts to isolate the Russian president.

The net effect of the Alaska summit was to give President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia a free pass to continue his war against his neighbor indefinitely without further penalty, pending talks on a broader peace deal.

President Donald Trump is meeting with Vladimir Putin, and security analysts caution that China views the talks as a test case for potential aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and President Donald Trump have reached an “understanding” on Ukraine and warned Europe not to “torpedo the nascent progress.”