LONDON — President Donald Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska will be “a listening exercise,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
The two sides are preparing for what could prove a pivotal meeting in Anchorage on Friday. Leavitt told reporters that a face-to-face meeting will give Trump “the best indication of how to end this war and where this is headed.”
“I think this is a listening exercise for the president,” Leavitt said. “Only one party that’s involved in this war is going to be present. And so this is for the president to go and to get, again, a more firm and better understanding of how we can hopefully bring this war to an end.”
Though details of Friday’s meeting are still being ironed out, Leavitt said it was “part of the plan” for Trump to meet one-on-one with Putin.
A woman walks past a heavily damaged residential building following a Russian strike in the town of Bilozerske, Donetsk region of Ukraine, on August 12, 2025.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images
Secretary of State Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone on Tuesday as preparations continued. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said of the call that “both sides confirmed their commitment to a successful event.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not expected to attend the event. Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram on Tuesday that his government is “preparing certain steps to further mobilize our partners” as the Alaska summit approaches.
Zelenskyy traveled to Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European leaders. European governments have expressed their support for Ukraine in any coming peace negotiations, urging Trump to facilitate European and Ukrainian involvement in any such discussions.
In a statement posted to Telegram, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian side had engaged in more than 30 “conversations and consultations with partners” regarding a potential peace settlement. “Different parts of the world, different visions, but common positions. We must end this war. We must put pressure on Russia for an honest peace.”
“We must learn from the experience of Ukraine, our partners, to prevent deception by Russia,” he added. “There is no sign now that the Russians are preparing to end the war. Our coordinated efforts and joint steps — of Ukraine, the United States, Europe, all countries that want peace — can definitely force Russia to make peace.”
After meeting with European leaders, Zelenskyy will have a virtual call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, two officials with knowledge of the arrangements told ABC News.
Long-range strikes by Russia and Ukraine continued overnight into Wednesday.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 49 drones and two North Korean-made ballistic missiles into the country overnight, of which 32 drones and both missiles were shot down or suppressed.
In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is pictured in Moscow on August 12, 2025.
Vyacheslav Prokofiev/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down 63 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine’s General Staff said the targets of the attacks included the Unecha oil pump station in Russia’s western Bryansk region. “An impact and a large-scale fire was recorded” in the area of the facility, the General Staff said in a statement.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Natalia Kushnir, Anna Sergeeva, Yulia Drozd, Hannah Demissie, Morgan Winsor and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
