President Donald Trump has abandoned his longstanding demand for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, telling reporters at the White House on 18 August that “I don’t think you need a ceasefire” if a broader accord can be reached. The shift follows Trump’s three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on 15 August, after which the U.S. leader said a comprehensive peace agreement is now the priority for ending the three-and-a-half-year war. Two days later Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European heads of state and institutions—including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Keir Starmer—in Washington. The rare gathering produced no breakthrough on the central sticking point of security guarantees for Kyiv, though participants declared themselves “hopeful” of progress. European leaders continued to press for a cease-fire and iron-clad protections, while Kyiv reiterated it would not surrender any of the Donetsk, Luhansk or Crimea regions, which Russia wants recognised as its territory. Trump and his advisers are now working on a two-stage diplomatic sequence: a bilateral Putin-Zelenskyy meeting followed by a trilateral session with the U.S. president present. According to people familiar with White House planning, the U.S. Secret Service has begun logistical preparations in Budapest, although Moscow and Geneva have also been floated. Special envoy Steve Witkoff said “real progress” had been made in Alaska, but acknowledged that territorial issues and security guarantees remain unresolved. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the United States would not deploy ground forces under any settlement, though limited air-support options are being examined. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Witkoff have been tasked with drafting a framework that could win European backing and satisfy Ukraine’s demand for future protection. With Russian forces still probing Ukrainian lines, diplomats on all sides cautioned that, despite the accelerated timetable, a durable peace deal is far from assured.