US President Donald Trump is meeting face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit that could determine not only the trajectory of the war in Ukraine but also the fate of European security.

Trump has visited Alaska several times as president, pushed for expanded oil, gas and mining permits there, and even got funding for new polar icebreakers, a popular stance in a state he won with 54% of the vote in 2024.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska on Friday in what could ultimately be one of the most consequential bilateral conversations of his second term.