In Alaska, military parader President Donald Trump literally had U.S. soldiers on their knees to roll out the red carpet for wanted war criminal Vladimir Putin, who Trump greeted with applause as Putin played him like a pawn.

At what was billed as an “historic” presidential summit, hastily put together in Alaska on Friday afternoon, the optics were as clear and overshadowing as the vast Chugach mountains glistening over Anchorage in the summer sun.

After leaving Alaska, Trump says he would prefer to "go directly to a peace agreement" to end the war in Ukraine as he prepares to meet Zelensky on Monday.

President Trump visits Alaska Friday for a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin — a discussion the White House has called a "listening exercise."

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Alaska summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders showcased their mutual animosity for the former president.

Get the latest news on President Donald Trump’s second term, including his meeting Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not reach a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine after talks in Alaska on Friday, as the two leaders offered scant details on what was discussed but heaped praise on one another.

Trump and Putin are slated to meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday. The high-stakes meeting comes three-and-a-half years into Russia's war with Ukraine, which Trump pledged to end on his first day back in office.

Trump’s critics say Putin ‘flattered’ Trump at the Alaska summit. Europe’s leaders aim to do the same - NEWS ANALYSIS: Trump’s meeting with Putin rolled back key red lines that Zelensky says Ukraine won’t cross.

Trump is meeting face-to-face with President Putin in Alaska for a summit that could determine the trajectory of the war in Ukraine.

For agreeing on a ceasefire in Ukraine, each side must receive something and give something, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio states. The only way to reach a deal is for each side to get something and each side to give something — and that's been very difficult,