The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on 15 August in Alaska for the first U.S.–Russia summit since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Officials said the session will focus on a possible cease-fire, with the Kremlin signalling readiness to freeze fighting along current front lines in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Trump has described the emerging plan as potentially involving “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both sides.” While Trump remains “open” to adding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Alaska talks, advisers said the format is for now a bilateral meeting at Putin’s request. The prospect of an agreement negotiated without Kyiv has provoked pushback in Europe and Ukraine, where Zelensky repeated that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.” In a joint statement on Saturday, leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission welcomed Washington’s diplomatic drive but insisted that any peace initiative must start with a cease-fire, include Ukraine at the table and uphold the principle that international borders cannot be changed by force. “The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” the communiqué said. Vice-President JD Vance sought to narrow differences at Chevening House in Kent, where he held hours-long talks with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Ukrainian officials Andriy Yermak and Rustem Umerov, and European national-security advisers. A U.S. official said the discussions made “significant progress,” though European negotiators tabled a counter-proposal that rules out major territorial concessions and calls for reciprocal steps by Russia. Investors are watching the run-up to the summit for signs of a breakthrough or fresh tension. Diplomats caution that, without Ukrainian consent and verifiable security guarantees, any deal Trump and Putin reach in Alaska could struggle to gain legitimacy or hold on the battlefield.