US President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday at Joint Military Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, for a high-stakes summit expected to focus on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

The meeting comes amid heightened tensions, with Putin reiterating his June 2024 demands: Ukraine’s neutrality, withdrawal of troops from Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, recognition of Crimea and other annexed territories as Russian, and protection of Russian speakers’ rights. Kyiv and European leaders have rejected these terms as non-viable.

European leaders, with the exception of Hungary, are working to influence Trump’s position before the summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stressed that Ukraine will not give up the Donbass region in exchange for a ceasefire and has pushed for stronger pressure on Russia to secure a fair peace.

The backdrop includes NATO’s decision to increase defence spending to at least 5% of GDP by 2035, European solidarity with Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and concerns over Russia’s military advances, particularly in eastern Ukraine using advanced drone tactics.

Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory and views eastern Ukraine as strategically and economically vital. Beyond the battlefield, religious tensions persist, with Moscow accusing Kyiv of persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, historically linked to Russia.

The White House has described the summit as a “listening exercise” for Trump, though he has hinted at exploring a “land-for-peace deal,” an idea unpopular with Ukraine and most European allies. Analysts warn that the outcome could reshape US-Europe relations and alter the geopolitical balance in Eurasia, depending on whether Trump can broker a breakthrough or if entrenched positions prevail.