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Israel is calling up 60,000 reservists. Is it a negotiating tactic to pressure Hamas, or will troops begin moving into Gaza City? WSJ deputy Middle East bureau chief Shayndi Raice breaks it down. Photo: Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250820/e487eb86-90ea-47eb-83b1-470c618663d9/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Israel is calling up 60,000 reservists. Is it a negotiating tactic to pressure Hamas, or will troops begin moving into Gaza City? WSJ deputy Middle East bureau chief Shayndi Raice breaks it down.

Israel Calls Up Reservists, Aiming To Raise the Pressure on Hamas

The message that Netanyahu's sending is, "We are coming into Gaza City, so, Hamas, be prepared. Now's the time to take the deal, or we go into Gaza City." The Israeli military said that it's going to be calling up 60,000 reservists in advance of a invasion of Gaza City. Gaza City is an area that Hamas currently controls, there are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that are believed to be sheltering there, and this is part of an effort by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to put military pressure on Hamas, so that they will agree to Israel's terms of surrender and releasing the remaining Israeli hostages that they hold. Hamas is, now at this point, unwilling to do that, they only want a partial deal where there would be some sort of temporary pause in the fighting, they would release some of the hostages, but they remain unprepared to give up their arms and give up military control over Gaza. This decision to call up tens of thousands of more troops comes as Israelis are growing increasingly frustrated with the war. Polls are now showing that nearly 80% of Israelis want the war to end, they want Netanyahu to do a deal with Hamas to end the war and bring the remaining hostages home. Israeli officials believe that Hamas is holding some of the hostages in Gaza City, and Hamas has made clear that if they feel that Israeli troops are getting close to them, they will execute the hostages, it's something that people in Israel are very concerned about and upset about. And then obviously the major risk is to Palestinian civilians, there are hundreds of thousands of people who are sheltering there. They will need to either move, or face a probably very severe and intense Israeli onslaught. What we see from this announcement today is that the Israeli government and the military are signaling that if Hamas does not agree to their demands, they are prepared to expand the war. This is something that Netanyahu has been very upfront about. He has said that military pressure is the only thing that will bring Hamas to the table. We do know from our own sources, which we've reported, that if Hamas were to agree to a deal that Israel would also find palatable, then the operation on Gaza City would not go ahead. So, it's both a negotiation tactic, but it's also serious, and I don't think that we can say that it's only negotiation or it's only pressure. The chances of them going into Gaza City are probably higher than the chances of a deal.

Video from around the world on the latest news developments, with insight from Wall Street Journal editors and reporters. 

Australia’s prime minister responds to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that he is ‘weak’ and has ‘betrayed Israel.’ Photo: Hilary Wardhaugh/Bloomberg News; Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250820/058962c8-fb24-4218-895b-1646c0d36728/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Australia’s prime minister responds to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that he is ‘weak’ and has ‘betrayed Israel.’

Netanyahu Says Australia PM ‘Betrayed Israel’

I don't take these things personally, you know, I engage with people. He's had similar things to say about other leaders. What I say is that Israel, of course, increasingly, there is a global concern and global concern because people want to see an end to the cycle of violence.

Strength is much better measured by exactly what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there's a decision that we know Israel won't like, he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu. He has the conversation. He says exactly what we're intending to do.

Despite apparent progress, Israel says it won’t stop fighting until Hamas gives up military and political control in Gaza. Photo: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250819/31b24d3b-5ca5-40a1-bcb0-9af8e2f07017/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Despite apparent progress, Israel says it won’t stop fighting until Hamas gives up military and political control in Gaza.

Hamas Says It Accepts Cease-fire. What Did They Actually Agree to?

WSJ’s Annie Linskey analyzes the high-stakes meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of European powers to discuss a potential path to ending Ukraine’s war with Russia. Photo: Presidential Press Service

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250819/74570ca6-9c81-4ca2-a0d6-47e3cf9a58c2/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

WSJ’s Annie Linskey analyzes the high-stakes meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of European powers to discuss a potential path to ending Ukraine’s war with Russia.

Trump-Zelensky Meeting: WSJ White House Reporter Breaks Down Ukraine Meeting

Thank you very much for being here.

Thanks so much.

President Trump today met with Ukrainian President Zelensky, along with European leaders to hash out a framework for how a peace process might move forward to end the conflict in Ukraine. Today's meeting came after a rushed summit that convened at the end of last week between President Trump and also President Putin of Russia.

I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on. Most of them, I would say.

President Zelensky of Ukraine was quite eager to be part of this conversation and he came to Washington as a sort of next step.

First of all, thank you for invitation, thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war.

Trump has met with Zelensky several times. The one that stands out was the February meeting in the Oval Office, which ultimately went off the rails.

You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards-

I'm not playing cards.

But right now you don't

I'm very serious

You're playing cards.

Mr. President

You're playing.

I'm very serious.

You're gambling with the lives

I'm the president in work

Of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III.

Today's meeting with Trump and Zelensky was a lot less tense and a lot less acrimonious. And one of the most notable things about the meeting today was that leaders of five European countries, the head of NATO and the head of the EU, all came to the White House to be standing next to Zelensky to show that there is support behind him. When Zelensky gave his remarks in the Oval Office, he thanked Trump multiple times.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much for invitation.

Zelensky has been looking for assurances from his allies and from the United States. Trump initially was reluctant to make any sort of US pledge to participate in such a guarantee, but now that has changed.

It comes to security, there's gonna be a lot of help. It's gonna be good. They are first line of defense because they're there, they're Europe. But we're gonna help them out also, we'll be involved.

One of the things that was quite clear today in the portion of the meetings where the Europeans were meeting with Trump in the East Room is that the Europeans still are very insistent on a ceasefire. Trump, however, is a lot less committed to the need for a ceasefire.

I can't imagine that the next meeting, will took place without a ceasefire.

In the six wars that I've settled, I haven't had a ceasefire.

The next steps from today's meeting were laid out fairly clearly, which is in another meeting. This would be a trilateral meeting, three-way meeting between Putin, Zelensky and Trump to work out some kind of lasting peace.

All the sensitive things, territorial, et cetera. We will discuss on the level of leaders during trilateral meeting and President Trump will try to organize such meeting and he said that he will come or not come. Ukraine will be happy if you participate-

If you both want me there, I will be there.

The idea of a trilateral meeting is very important because this is the only way to fix it. And by the way, I think as a follow up, we would need probably a quadrilateral meeting because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent and this is why we are all united here with Ukraine on this matter.

Now also, the really thorny question of would Ukraine seed some of the territory that the Russians are currently occupying? This is something that the Ukrainians are quite reluctant to do for obvious reasons. They have been fighting a very bloody war for three and a half years to hold onto their territory. To seed territory in some way would obviously be quite difficult for them. But it is something that Putin quite clearly wants. And that will be one of the major sticking points. One of the key pictures to come out of today was this photograph of Donald Trump standing with Zelensky in the Oval Office looking at a map of Ukraine. It implied that there's a clear discussion about this disputed this territory that the Russians are occupying and the Ukrainians are fighting over right now.

We're happy that we have such big unity today. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you very much.

For hosting us.

Mr. President. I think you'll see that President Putin really would like to do something also.

Today, in many ways was the easy part. It gets harder from here.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he wanted to see a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia before more difficult peace negotiations. Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated Press

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/86a810b5-2c6d-4fdc-a969-2cf7a5f3e273/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he wanted to see a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia before more difficult peace negotiations.

Germany's Merz Pushes for Cease-Fire in Ukraine at D.C. Meeting with Zelensky

I think this is extremely helpful that we are meeting and hearing that the two of you are having such a good meeting today here in Washington. The next steps ahead are the more complicated ones now. The path is open. You opened it last Friday, but now the way is open for complicated negotiations. And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire the latest from the next meeting on. I can't imagine that the next meeting would took place without a ceasefire. So let's work on that and let's try to put pressure on Russia because the credibility of these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on at least a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from next step on. So I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place.

Well, we're gonna let the president go over and talk to the president, and we'll see how that works out, and if we can do that. I will say, and again, I say it in the six wars that I've settled, I haven't had a ceasefire. We just got into negotiations and one of the wars was, as you know, and the Congo was 30 years, 31 years long. Another one that we settled last week was two great countries, was 35 years going on, and we had no ceasefire. So if we can do the ceasefire, great, and if we don't do a ceasefire, 'cause many other points were given to us, many, many points were given to us, great points.

Germany's Merz Pushes for Cease-Fire at Trump-Zelensky Meeting

President Trump kicked off a multilateral meeting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a potential end to the war with Russia. Photo: Caballero Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/ae071d49-21f7-42cb-a7fe-ba04877a88de/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

President Trump kicked off a multilateral meeting with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on a potential end to the war with Russia.

Trump Says Peace Agreement Between Ukraine and Russia Looks 'Obtainable'

The Alaska Summit reinforced my belief that while difficult, peace is within reach, and I believe that in a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine. And this is one of the key points that we need to consider, and we're going to be considering that at the table also, like who will do what essentially. I'm optimistic that, collectively, we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine. And I actually think there won't be. I think that's even overrated, largely overrated, but we're gonna find out. I think that the European nations are gonna take a lot of the burden. We're gonna help them and we're gonna make it very secure. We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory taken into consideration the current line of contact. That means the war zone, the war lines that are pretty obvious, very sad, actually to look at 'em. And negotiating positions, President Putin, also, you have president of Ukraine, who is, you just met a little while ago. And we're gonna try and get a three-party meeting, maybe as soon as we can. And I have a feeling you and President Putin are gonna work something out. Ultimately, this is a decision that can only be made by President Zelensky and by the people of Ukraine, working also together in agreement with President Putin. And I just think that's very good things are gonna come of it. So I hope we have a good meeting, and if we can have a good meeting, I'll set up a meeting with President Putin. And if you'd like, I'll go to that meeting, not that I wanna do that, but I will do that, because we wanna save a lot of people from dying. A lot of people are dying and we gotta save 'em, gotta save it, 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 people sometimes a week. All of us would obviously prefer an immediate ceasefire while we work on a lasting peace, and maybe something like that could happen. As of this moment, it's not happening, but President Zelensky and President Putin can talk a little bit more about that. You know, in the six or so wars that we stopped, we haven't had a ceasefire. And so I don't know that it's necessary. You can do it through the war, but it would be, I like the ceasefire from another standpoint. You immediately stop the killing. But I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that's very attainable, and it can be done in the near future. With all of the wars that I got involved in, we only have this one left. Of course, as I walk out the door, there'll probably be a new one starting and I'll get that stopped too. But I thought that this was gonna be one of the easier ones. It's actually one of the most difficult and very complex. The next step would be for a trilateral meeting, and that would be worked out. And I just look forward to working and having a great result. We're gonna spend a lotta time today talking about, and we're really honored you guys came over. I mean, these are the heads of major countries and respected all over Europe. And they speak for, largely I think I should say, but pretty much for the other countries of Europe. And we will come to a resolution today, I think, on almost everything, including probably the security. And that's pretty much the story. I'd like to say, Mr. President, would you like to say something? You have the media. If you want, you could come over and you could stand. You could use mine or you could just turn around, whichever you feel comfortable with.

Thank you so much. I can speak without microphone. Thank you so much. I think that we had a very good conversation with President Trump.

Very good.

And it really was the best one, or sort of maybe the best one will be in the future. But it was really good. And we spoke about very sensitive points. The first one is security guarantees, and we are very happy with president that all the leaders are here, and the security in Ukraine depends on the United States and on you and on those leaders who are with us, in our hearts. They have been online and before yesterday and et cetera. So a lot of countries on the side of Ukraine. Our people and all of us want to finish this war, stop Russia, stop this war. We spoke about it and we will speak more about security guarantees. This is very important that United States gives such strong signal and is ready for security guarantees. The second point or maybe the first, humanitarian direction, very important to exchange all the prisoners. And I think that president will help, and I was very thankful to your wife again, Mr. President, for the letter about our abducted children. And I hope that really, it can be historic role for the people to bring kids back to the families and be happy, get their families.

Get the people back, yeah.

Yes, this is so, so important, and I'm happy that we discussed it, this track with President Trump. And I hope that we will find decisions. And then, what is very important that all the sensitive things, territorial and et cetera, we will discuss on the level of leaders during trilateral meeting. And President Trump will try to organize such meeting, and he said that he will come or not come. Ukraine will be happy if you will participate.

If you both want me there, I'll be there, yeah, you know that.

Thank you and I think this is very important. Yeah, so security guarantees, bringing kids back, and all our people, not only warriors, first of all, warriors, and all the civilians, journalists, a lot of people imprisoned. So we need them back. And guarantees which will work for the US, we spoke about it. And I showed to president a lot of details on the battlefield, on the map, thank you so much. Thank you for the map, by the way.

Good map.

It was great, yeah. I'm thinking how to take it back.

We'll get you one.

No, no, no. I think that we had constructive, specific meeting, and I'm very thankful to all the leaders who are here and you helped a lot. And so we are happy that we have such big unity today. Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you very much.

Asked what security guarantees he needs, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said "Everything." Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/f41273d2-a0d9-4922-8e54-1ae988d44ae4/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Asked what security guarantees he needs, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said "Everything."

Zelensky Seeks Broad Security Guarantees Before Potential Truce With Russia

Reporter: What are the guarantees do you need from President Trump to be able to make a deal? Is it American troops, intelligent, equipment? What is it?

Everything. And really, it's includes two parts. First, strong Ukrainian army. That what I began to discuss with your colleagues and it's a lot about weapon and then people and training missions and intelligence. And second, we will discuss with our partners. It depends on the big countries, on the United States, on a lot of our friends.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fielded questions from reporters during an Oval Office meeting with President Trump. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/0e8e1a93-efb8-4573-a3d6-cb21edbb12df/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fielded questions from reporters during an Oval Office meeting with President Trump.

Zelensky: Ukraine Needs Truce Before Holding Elections

Reporter: President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit.

I said the same thing.

You look good.

I said the same thing.

Yeah, looks good on him.

That's the one that attacked you last time. See, now he's a nice guy.

I remember him.

I apologize to you. You look wonderful. No, my first question for you, President Zelensky--

But you are in the same suit. See, I changed.

Maybe yours is much better than mine. Real quickly, upon peace, God willing we get peace, are you open to holding an election in your country?

Pres. Zelensky: Yes, of course. We're hoping for election, yes. We have to do safety circumstances and a little bit, we need to work in the Parliament 'cause during the war, you can't have elections, but we can, we can do security. We need maybe, how to say, we need a truce? Yes, everywhere, in the battlefield, in the sky and the sea. Yeah, to make possible for people to do democratic, open, legal, legal elections. So we are ready.

So you say during, during the war, you can't have elections. So let me just say three-and-a-half years from now, so you mean, if we happen to be in a war with somebody, no more elections. I wonder what the fake news would say to him.

You like this idea?

President Trump was asked whether U.S. troops could play a role in Ukrainian security guarantees following a potential end to fighting with Russia. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/923a00d3-b5df-4515-b998-ae910ea2de26/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

President Trump was asked whether U.S. troops could play a role in Ukrainian security guarantees following a potential end to fighting with Russia.

Trump on Ukrainian Security Guarantees: Europe Will Be First Line of Defense

Reporter: Your team has talked about security guarantees. Could that involve US troops? Would you rule that out in the future?

We'll let you know that maybe later today. We're meeting with seven great leaders of great countries also, and we'll be talking about that. They'll all be involved, but there'll be a lot of help. When it comes to security, there's gonna be a lot of help. It's gonna be good. They are the first line of defense because they're there, they're Europe, but we're gonna help them out also. We'll be involved.

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to reporters from the Oval Office before their meeting on a potential path to end the war with Russia. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/74575643-6b3e-4313-ba2f-5611e3928b7e/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to reporters from the Oval Office before their meeting on a potential path to end the war with Russia.

Trump and Zelensky Meet in Oval Office Following Putin Summit

Well, thank you very much. It's an honor to have the president of Ukraine with us. We've had a lot of good discussions, a lot of good talks, and I think progress is being made, very, very substantial progress in many ways. We had a good meeting, as you know, just a short while ago with the president of Russia. And I think there's a possibility that something could come out of it. And today's meeting is very important. We have, I guess, the seven very powerful leaders from Europe, and we're gonna be meeting with them right after this meeting. And thank you very much for being here.

Thank you so much, Mr. President. If I can, first of all-

Please.

thank you for invitation and thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war, thank you. And using this opportunity, many thanks to your wife, first lady of the United States, she sent a letter to Putin about our children, abducted children. And my wife, first lady of Ukraine, she gave the letter.

Oh, that's very nice.

It's not to you, to your wife. Oh, I want it. I want it.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we are saying this is a sensitive topic. Yeah, yes, please. And thanks to our partners and that you supported this format, that after our meeting, we're gonna have leaders who are around us, UK and France, Germany, Italy, Finland, EU, NATO. I mean, all partners around Ukraine supporting us, Thanks to them, thank you very much for invitation. Thank you.

Thank you very much for being here.

Peter: President Trump.

Reporter: Do you think it's fair to?

Yes, Peter, go ahead.

Thank you, President Trump. So President Zelensky, you say in a post on X today, "Russia must end this war, which it itself started." President Trump, you say, "President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to." Which is it?

Yeah, I think that's true. I think we're gonna have a meeting. I think if everything works out well today, we'll have a trilat. And I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.

Peter: And is this the end of the road for American support for Ukraine? Is today's meeting deal or no deal?

I can never say that. It's never the end of the road. People are being killed and we wanna stop that. So I would not say it's the end of the road. No, I think we have a good chance of doing it. It's been almost four years now that, a lot of people were killed last week, a lot of people last week. I mean, millions of people killed, but a lot of people last week, for whatever reason. A big number, a lot of soldiers, both, on both sides. And I know the president, I know myself and I believe Vladimir Putin wants to see it ended.

Peter: And as you met with Putin on Friday, today, you've got President Zelensky here, as you listen to Russia and Ukraine, which side has the better cards?

Well, I don't wanna say that. I'm just here to be, look, this isn't my war, this is Joe Biden's war. He's the one that had a lot to do with this happening. And we wanna get it ended. And we want it to end good for everybody. We want it to end good. The people of Ukraine have suffered incredibly.

Peter: President Zelensky, President Zelensky, are you prepared to keep sending Ukrainian troops to their deaths for another couple years or are you going to agree to redraw the map?

Thank you for your question. So first of all, you know, we live under each day attacks. You know that today have been a lot of attacks and a lot of wounded people and the child was that small, one, 1 1/2. So we need to stop this war to stop Russia and we need support, American and European partners, and we'll do our best for this. And I think we showed that we are strong people and we supported the idea of the United States, personally of President Trump, to stop this war, to make diplomatic way of finishing this war. And we are ready for trilateral, as president said. This is a good signal about trilateral. I think this is very good, thank you.

A Russian drone attack hit an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv ahead of a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Trump. Photo: Vitalii Hnidyi/Reuters

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250818/872be159-d314-4f8d-99e6-ec6c31a5e4b6/2/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

A Russian drone attack hit an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv ahead of a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Trump.

Russia Strikes Ukraine as Trump, Zelensky Prepare to Meet

You are gambling with the lives of millions of people. You are gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to this country. Back to you, far more than a lot of people said, they should have.

I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway. So there's no deal until there's a deal.

It's necessary to cease fire and work quickly on a final deal. We'll talk about it in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.

Russia Strikes Ukraine as Trump and Zelensky Prepare to Meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Finland, the European Union and NATO, will meet with President Trump in Washington to discuss the war in Ukraine. Photo: Olivier Hoslet/EPA/Shutterstock

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250817/5bac6df5-c3b8-45da-99cd-541ad970c1ad/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Finland, the European Union and NATO, will meet with President Trump in Washington to discuss the war in Ukraine.

EU Leaders Will Join Zelensky to Meet With Trump in Washington

With regards to any territorial questions in Ukraine, our position is clear. International borders cannot be changed by force. These are decisions to be made by Ukraine and Ukraine alone, and these decisions cannot be taken without Ukraine at the table. As long as the bloodshed in Ukraine continues, Europe will maintain diplomatic, and in particular, economic pressure on Russia.

Russia is still unsuccessful in Donetsk region. Putin has been unable to take it for 12 years, and the constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible, impossible to give up territory or trade land. Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral Ukraine, United States, Russia. So far, Russia gives no sign that trilateral will happen, and if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow. Therefore, it's important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and we are very thankful to the United States and to the President for such signal. Putin has many demands, but we do not know all of them, and if there are really as many as we heard, then it will take time to go through them all. It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons, so it's necessary to cease-fire and work quickly on a final deal. We'll talk about it in Washington. Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.

President Trump said he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House after the Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any breakthrough. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov/AFP/Getty Images

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250817/519f3d48-d050-4ff7-a7e2-71a233178d5f/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

President Trump said he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House after the Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without any breakthrough.

U.S. Officials Praise Alaska Summit, Say Trump Wants to ‘Promote Peace’

I still don't understand how not getting the ceasefire deal is a win. I understand the idea of wanting this bigger package, of course, but a ceasefire would at least stop the bloodshed right now.

Jake, the thesis of a ceasefire is that you'd be discussing all of these issues that we resolved in Alaska. You'd be discussing security guarantees. There's not a person on the European team who didn't acknowledge that we made substantial progress at this meeting. We certainly did. So we cut through all kinds of issues that would have to be discussed and agreed to during a ceasefire period. We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game changing.

What we're trying to do right now is end the war, and in order to end the war, you've gotta give every opportunity that exists. You have to be open to any opportunity that exists to bring it about. If tomorrow the war continues, life in America will not be fundamentally altered. So I think that we have to understand is that this has been a priority for this President because he wants to promote peace. He wants to promote the end of a war.

President Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not result in a deal to end fighting in Ukraine. WSJ’s Meridith McGraw explains what happened, and what’s next. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov/Press Pool

https://video-asset.barrons.com/video/20250816/25104ff9-54e8-4d30-b7a4-3fbcd8f77e23/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

President Trump’s summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not result in a deal to end fighting in Ukraine. WSJ’s Meridith McGraw explains what happened, and what’s next.

Trump-Putin Meeting: WSJ Reporter Breaks Down Alaska Summit on Ukraine

I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say. A couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway.

I'm at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just wrapped.

So there's no deal until there's a deal.

President Trump came into this meeting saying that he wanted to have a ceasefire or some sort of peace agreement come out of it, but he recognized that that might not happen. He said he was even prepared to walk away if they couldn't reach a deal.

Just to put it very quickly, I'm gonna start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to. There are just a very few that are left, some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.

Meridith: President Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for Putin here in Anchorage. There were two long red carpets that went from the respective planes. The two men warmly greeted each other when they met in the center, and then President Trump appeared to even invite Putin to join him in The Beast, his presidential limo, to go off to their first meeting.

I've always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir.

I will say I've covered President Trump for almost 10 years now, and he always likes to take questions from the press, he likes to spar with reporters, and he really likes to update the public personally on camera, and so it really was unusual that he didn't take this opportunity with the press conference to talk about the negotiations or how the talks went.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

While there weren't any major breakthroughs that we know of today at this summit, the door to negotiations doesn't seem to have been closed. President Trump said during his remarks that he hoped to see Putin again. He's talked before about how he hopes that there could be a second meeting that involves Putin and Zelenskyy, but at least today, we didn't see the kind of ceasefire agreement or outline of any sort of deal that a lot of people, including President Trump, expected may occur.

Again, Mr. President, I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon. Thank you very much, Vladimir.

Next time in Moscow.

Oh, that's an interesting one. I don't know, I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening. Thank you very much.

A group of people gathered in Anchorage, Alaska, and protested against Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Trump-Putin summit. WSJ’s Jim Carlton reports from the scene. Photo: Jim Carlton/WSJ

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A group of people gathered in Anchorage, Alaska, and protested against Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Trump-Putin summit. WSJ’s Jim Carlton reports from the scene.

WSJ Reporter Describes Pro-Ukraine Protest in Alaska Amid Trump-Putin Summit

`- This has been one of the bigger protest events here at the summit, the unfurling of this flag. This is one of the world's largest Ukraine flags, 132 feet by 65 feet, and they're unfurling it here, in Anchorage, Alaska. And this shows the pretty broad support for Ukraine at least in this crowd. So the protesters really wanted one main thing that is for Ukraine to have the biggest seat at the table because, you know, in their view, you know, Putin, who was the aggressor, they consider him a war criminal. There were a lot of signs to that effect, Nazi, fascist, et cetera. There's some other causes that came out about fascism, you know, immigration, crackdown, et cetera. So there's a range of concerns. But the big thing is, they really don't like to have a summit between Russia and the US.

Oh, are you reedy?

Ukrainian support.

People gathered outside the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York and rallied for peace as President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska. Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

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People gathered outside the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York and rallied for peace as President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Alaska.

Ukrainian Community in New York Demands Peace as Trump, Putin Meet 

Speaker: So we represent a lot of the Ukrainian diaspora here in New York.

For us, for Ukrainians, it's very unfair that Zelenskyy is not being part of this because they're deciding about us and we're not there, right? So something is just not right.

We would love to have hope and unfortunately, the more you know, the less you have hope. And last events, last whatever we have in the history show they don't stand up for us. They don't do this in Budapest '86. They don't do in Meydan '14. They give up , they give up donors, they wanna give up everything.

I have family, I have friends as a Parisian. They have a lot of concerns about this negotiations because they have this uncertainty about future, what will be, because they live now in Ukraine, soldiers protecting them, and they don't know what expect and they afraid they will be no support from US or from Europe, they will be in critical conditions.

President Trump said he made 'some headway' on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Alaska, but admitted they hadn't reached a deal. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

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President Trump said he made 'some headway' on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Alaska, but admitted they hadn't reached a deal.

Trump and Putin Fail to Reach Deal on Ukraine During Alaska Summit

We'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon. Thank you very much, Vladimir.

Next time in Moscow.

Oh, that's an interesting one. I don't know, I'll get a little heat on that one, but I could see it possibly happening. I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on. Most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven't quite got there, but we've made some headway. So, there's no deal until there's a deal. I will call up NATO in a little while. I will call up the various people that I think are appropriate, and I'll, of course, call up President Zelenskyy and tell him about today's meeting.

If you had to grade it on a scale of 1 to 10.

So I think the meeting was a 10 in the sense that we got along great. And it's good when, you know, two big powers get along, especially when they're nuclear powers. You know, we are number one, they're number two in the world, and... It's a big deal.

Air Force One landed in Anchorage, Alaska, where President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in person. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

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Air Force One landed in Anchorage, Alaska, where President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in person.

Watch: President Trump Arrives in Alaska for Meeting With Putin

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine. WSJ’s Jim Carlton speaks to local residents about the historic meeting. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters; Jim Carlton/WSJ

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President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine. WSJ’s Jim Carlton speaks to local residents about the historic meeting.

WSJ Reporter Describes the Scene as Trump Lands in Alaska

Here I am, Anchorage. This is the Port of Anchorage. And behind me is where we think Putin's going to, his plane is going to be coming in, and here's Air Force One coming in for a landing. The President of the United States here. We've got some people coming out here are gonna be taking in the scene and you know, it's kind of cold. You can feel autumn's in the air here in Alaska, and there's some Ukrainian supporters down there with their flag.

What do you hope will be achieved today between President Trump and Putin?

Well, peace of course, but we're really distraught that Putin is allowed on our soil, period. I think most of this is that. And then also, not including President Zelenskyy. So he's been, he's our hero, right?

He is the one that deserves a Nobel Prize.

Yes.

President Trump told Fox News he would walk away from the Alaska summit if the peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin don’t go well. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

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President Trump told Fox News he would walk away from the Alaska summit if the peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin don’t go well.

Trump: 'I Would Walk' if Talks Don't Go Well

I think we're gonna 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 a 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 gonna work out very well. And if it doesn't, I'm gonna head back home real fast.

I mean, if it doesn't, you walk?

I would walk there.

President Trump said he is ‘not going to be happy’ if a cease-fire deal isn’t reached in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

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President Trump said he is ‘not going to be happy’ if a cease-fire deal isn’t reached in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump on Alaska Summit: ‘I Want to See a Cease-Fire’

There's nothing set in stone. I want certain things. I want to see a cease-fire. This is not to do with Europe. Europe's not telling me what to do. But they're gonna be involved in the process, obviously, as well as Zelensky. But I want to see a cease-fire rapidly. I don't know if it's gonna be today, but I'm not gonna be happy if it's not today. Everyone said it can't be today, but I'm just saying, I want the killing to stop. I'm in this to stop the killing. You know, we're not putting up any money. We're making money. They're buying our weapons, and we're sending them to NATO and NATO's sending us big, beautiful checks. But I don't care about that, I care about, it was a big factor when Biden spent 350 billion and got nothing. But what I do care about is they lost, last week, 7,011 people were lost, almost all soldiers, 36 people in a town, which got hit by a missile. But 7,000, over 7,000 soldiers. It's crazy.

Yulia Navalnaya said another round of prisoner exchanges will make the Alaska meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘a truly historic event.’ Photo: Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images

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Yulia Navalnaya said another round of prisoner exchanges will make the Alaska meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘a truly historic event.’

Navalny’s Wife Calls on Putin to Free Political Prisoners

Crowd: Yulia, Yulia, Yulia, Yulia, Yulia.

We don't know and you don't know how things will unfold after your talks. Maybe the results will make difference. Maybe they will be forgotten in a week. But there is a way to ensure this summit goes down in history no matter what. A way to guarantee that whatever happens next, the Alaska meeting will be remembered as a truly historic event. To achieve this, you must take in irreversible step, something that cannot be undone, something that won't disappear the very next day due to shifting geopolitical priorities, namely launch a new round of prisoner exchange. A face-to-face meeting offers a rare and invaluable opportunity for this. There is no need for years of shuttle diplomacy. Sadly, I know better than anyone what the cost of delaying such matters can be. You can simply exchange the lists and release the people. I know those lists are already prepared. Free Russian political activists and journalists, free Ukrainian civilians, free those in prison for anti-war statements and social media posts. After all, you are negotiating to end the war. So why should people remain behind bars for demanding exactly the same thing. No matter how many more rounds of talks may be needed, this step will still go down in history. Just take it.

President Trump left the White House early Friday en route to Alaska for a summit on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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President Trump left the White House early Friday en route to Alaska for a summit on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Watch: Trump Departs White House for Putin Summit on Ukraine

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sets the stage for the U.S.-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska. Photo: Shamil Zhumatov/pool/EPA/Shutterstock

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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sets the stage for the U.S.-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska.

Trump-Putin Meeting: Moscow Claims to Have a ‘Distinct Position’

President Trump has vowed “very serious consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine. Here’s what you need to know ahead of their meeting. Photo Illustration: Louisa Naks

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President Trump has vowed “very serious consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine. Here’s what you need to know ahead of their meeting.

Trump-Putin Alaska Meeting: What You Need to Know

Narrator: After months of pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine, President Trump is set to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin. With Moscow pushing ahead on the battlefield, the talks come at a critical moment.

Both sides have very different goals in the end and very different intentions as well.

Narrator: In his bid to bring an end to the war, Trump's frustrations with Russia have been growing.

We just don't see any progress being made.

Narrator: But, despite threatening more severe sanctions if a ceasefire wasn't reached, Trump instead announced he would meet Putin in person. The meeting will happen here in Alaska, an area that was once Russian territory.

It was bought from the Russians in the 19th century, and so there has always been a certain sense in Russia, among the Russians, that this was once Russian territory. So, for them, there's a certain gravity to the location.

Narrator: Trump has said he views the meeting as a chance to feel out Putin's position.

Meaning probably in the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made.

Journalist: How will you know that?

'Cause that's what I do, I make deals.

Narrator: President Trump said he will not negotiate territorial issues, adding that he'll use the meeting as a way to push Putin to agree to a ceasefire.

Reporter: Will Russia face any consequences if Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war after your meeting on Friday?

Yes, they will.

Narrator: But Russia has reiterated that its conditions for ending the war remain unchanged.

That is to basically take over Ukraine, install the public government in Kyiv, and make sure that it's a friendly country on Russia's western border.

Narrator: European leaders had raised concerns about Trump's decision to meet Putin on American soil. But, in a virtual summit on Wednesday, they agreed with President Trump on red lines for Friday's talks.

There's a lot of mistrust towards Putin among the European leaders, and I think for that reason, there's a lot of worry among them that Trump could be led astray by Putin, that he could be played by the Kremlin leader. So they're very concerned that whatever's agreed in Anchorage also meets their demands and their needs as well for security in the future. How can the European leaders be sure that this isn't just a tactical pause and that any suspension fighting isn't going to just be an opportunity for Russia to re-arm itself and attack again in the future?

Narrator: Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is not expected to attend Friday's meeting.

I would say he could go, but he's gone to a lot of meetings. You know, he's been there for 3 1/2 years, nothing happened.

I think it will be very difficult for any real substantive agreement about Ukraine to happen without Ukraine being at the table. They are the ones, after all, on the other side of the front line, and they can decide to continue fighting if they want to.

Narrator: However, Trump hopes to follow up Friday summit with a trilateral meeting between the warring leaders.

Putin has said that he's, in theory, okay with this, but he said that there's certain conditions that need to be met that have not been met for that to happen. And by that, he means elections. He wants to see Zelenskyy face the Ukrainian population again in elections.

Narrator: The Trump-Putin meeting comes as Moscow's forces are having some success on the battlefield.

They've been pushing very hard to make gains in the last couple weeks or so, and they've actually made some territorial gains in places where they've had difficulties in the past. And so they intend to continue fighting, they're pushing forward.

Narrator: The talks also offer additional gains for Russia.

One of the most important things that this does for Russia and Putin right now is that it prolongs peace talks. It basically extends the amount of time during which Russia can show that it's being a good partner in peace talks and that it wants to move forward towards peace without getting sanctioned. Trump has threatened sanctions more and more in the past as he's become visibly frustrated with Russia. So this is a way of dodging that frustration and potential sanctions as well.

Narrator: While both Trump and Putin stand to gain from this meeting, what success looks like for each side is starkly different.

I think the best-case scenario for Trump is ultimately showing the United States and the rest of the world that he was able to clinch a very hard-to-attain peace between Russia and Ukraine. I think expectations for that are generally low, and I think he's telegraphed that his own expectations for that may be low, but I think that's obviously the golden ring for him. When it comes to Russia, they want to see relations normalized as much as they can be between the US and Russia. They want to see international recognition for the gains that they've made on the battlefield and continue to make on the battlefield.

The three-day long event showcases more than 500 robots from around the world, which will compete in sports including soccer and boxing. Photo: Hannah Miao

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The three-day long event showcases more than 500 robots from around the world, which will compete in sports including soccer and boxing.

China Hosts World's First Games for Humanoid Robots

Gov. Gavin Newsom detailed California Democrats’ plans to redraw congressional district maps to gain Democrat seats before the 2026 midterm elections. Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters

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Gov. Gavin Newsom detailed California Democrats’ plans to redraw congressional district maps to gain Democrat seats before the 2026 midterm elections.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Unveils Redistricting Plan to Counter Trump

Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we'll punch back. It's a tall task. We're asking them for two-thirds of legislative consent, but this is the difference. This is the difference between what's happening in Texas and what's happening here in California. We didn't receive a phone call from the president of the United States to then quietly go in the back room and start drawing maps and legislatively try to jam them through against the consent of the people. We're doing precisely the opposite. We're working through a very transparent, temporary and public process.

President Trump mentioned the possibility of inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for further negotiations if the first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin goes well. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

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President Trump mentioned the possibility of inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for further negotiations if the first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin goes well.

Trump Wants Alaska Summit With Putin to ‘Set the Table’ for Next Meeting

We have a meeting with President Putin tomorrow. I think it's gonna be a good meeting, but the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're gonna have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders along, maybe not, And I know that it's gonna be very important. We're gonna see what happens. And I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along. And if they can, it'll be great.

Reporter: Would you support or agree to reducing NATO troops in Europe in countries like Poland in order to get Russia to agree to a peace deal?

That hasn't been put before me, and I'll think about that for later, but it has not been put before me. I would say that, tomorrow, all I wanna do is set the table for the next meeting, which should happen shortly. I'd like to see it happen very quickly, very shortly after this meeting. I'd like to see it actually happen maybe in Alaska, where we just stayed, because it's so much easier. But I think it's gonna be very interesting. We're gonna find out where everybody stands. And I'll know within the first two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, or five minutes, like we tend to find out whether or not we're gonna have a good meeting or a bad meeting. And if it's a bad meeting, it'll end very quickly. And if it's a good meeting, we're gonna end up getting peace in the pretty near future.