Trump-Putin summit: Zelenskyy to travel to DC on Monday to meet with President Trump

Trump invited European leaders to join the meeting with the Ukrainian president.

Last Updated: August 17, 2025, 3:05 PM EDT

Following what was described as a “lengthy” phone call with President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he will travel to Washington on Monday to meet with President Donald Trump. A White House official said Trump has invited European leaders to join the meeting on Monday afternoon.

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska on Friday and while Putin mentioned an "agreement" in the post-meeting news conference and Trump said "great progress" was made, there was no mention of a ceasefire.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 15, 2025, 1:05 PM EDT

B-2 bombers flown into military base ahead of summit: Officials

Two B-2 bombers were flown into Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska ahead of the meeting, according to two officials.

The stealth bombers are the same kind used by the U.S. to strike Iran's nuclear sites in June's Operation Midnight Hammer.

A view of a B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover attends Preakness 147 hosted by 1/ST at Pimlico Race Course, May 21, 2022, in Baltimore.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images

The B-2 is considered a symbol of U.S. power, as the bombers can fly around the world nonstop and can carry both conventional and nuclear munitions.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

-ABC News' Cindy Smith, Katherine Faulders and Anne Flaherty

Aug 15, 2025, 12:44 PM EDT

Trump says he ‘would walk’ if Putin meeting doesn’t go well

President Donald Trump told Fox News that if his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't go well, "I would walk."

"Heading in, what's your initial feeling? How are you feeling about what you're going to get out of this?" Fox News' Bret Baier asked Trump.

"I think we're going to do very well. Our country is doing very well. We're setting records economically like we never have before, including the stock markets are all at record high. We're taking in trillions and trillions of dollars with tariffs. We're going for a meeting with President Putin in Alaska, and I think it's going to work out very well. And if it doesn't, I'm gonna head back home real fast," Trump said.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One in the air on August 15, 2025, en route to Anchorage.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

"I mean, if it doesn't, you walk?" Baier asked.

"I would walk, yeah," Trump said.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

Aug 15, 2025, 12:36 PM EDT

'There's a good respect level on both sides,' Trump says

Asked what was different about a face-to-face meeting rather than phone calls during his gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump said "no difference," then went on to say that there’s "good respect" between him and Putin.

"Look, he's a smart guy. Been doing it for a long time, but so have I," Trump said. "We get along. There's a good respect level on both sides."

Trump also said he liked that Putin was bringing businesspeople from Russia to the summit "because they want to do business, but they're not doing business until we get the war settled."

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, August 15, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow

Aug 15, 2025, 12:11 PM EDT

Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday as Trump and Putin meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Kyiv, the nation's capital, on Friday as Trump and Putin are set to soon meet in Alaska.

Zelenskyy said on social media he held a meeting with various government offices in Ukraine to discuss diplomatic work.

"In particular, we addressed the funding of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, auditing the effectiveness of coalitions with partners, special formats, the substance of our bilateral relations in key global areas, and our work at the EU level. I instructed that the foreign policy plan be updated for the period through the end of the year," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

President Donald Trump in Washington, Aug. 14, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin, Aug. 13, 2025 and Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Aug. 12, 2025.
EPA/Shutterstock/AFP via Getty Images

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