Trump, Putin set to meet in Alaska today

Moscow continues with Ukraine attacks

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Pressure mounted ahead of a landmark summit in Alaska between the United States and Russia, as Donald Trump warned that Vladimir Putin had only one chance, but Moscow pressed ahead with major battlefield gains in Ukraine.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump will meet today at an air base in the far-northern US state, the first time the Russian leader has been permitted on Western soil since his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has killed tens of thousands of people.

With such high stakes, all sides were pushing hard in the hours before the meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has refused to surrender territory to Russia, spoke by telephone Wednesday with Mr Trump, as did European leaders who voiced confidence afterward that the US leader would seek a ceasefire rather than concessions by Kyiv.

Mr Trump himself sent mixed messages, saying that he could quickly organise a three-way summit afterward with both Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin, but also warning of his impatience with Mr Putin.