Ukraine hit multiple southern Russian cities in a drone attack on Thursday, killing at least one person and wounding 16 more, just hours before President Donald Trump is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-trump-and-putins-alaska-meeting?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=What+You+Need+To+Know+Ahead+Of+Trump+And+Putin%E2%80%99s+Alaska+Meeting">scheduled to meet</a> with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a potential ceasefire.
One Ukrainian drone struck an apartment building in Rostov-on-Don, injuring 13 people, according to the acting governor of the region, Yury Slyusar, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-officials-say-least-16-wounded-ukrainian-drone-attacks-two-cities-2025-08-14/">reported</a>. Another drone that hit in Belgorod injured three civilians.
Ukraine also appeared to target a Russian oil refinery late Wednesday, with a drone attack causing an oil spill. The Russian Defense Ministry said that it intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/5453111-ukraine-russia-drone-attacks-trump-putin-meeting/">The Hill</a>.
Ukraine&#8217;s drone attack on Russia comes after Putin&#8217;s forces made significant <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-makes-sudden-advance-in-ukraine-days-before-trump-putin-summit?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Russia+Makes+Sudden+Advance+In+Ukraine+Days+Before+Trump-Putin+Summit">advances</a> in eastern Ukraine. According to Ukraine’s DeepState war map, Russian forces advanced by around six miles as they seek to take full control of the Donetsk region. Russia has also ramped up drone and missile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russian-airstrikes-on-prison-hospital-kill-19-in-southeastern-ukraine?author=Reuters&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Russian+Airstrikes+On+Prison%2C+Hospital+Kill+19+In+Southeastern+Ukraine">strikes</a> on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, in recent weeks, killing more than a dozen people.
Trump and Putin will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, at 3:30 PM EST on Friday, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-ahead-of-trump-and-putins-alaska-meeting?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=What+You+Need+To+Know+Ahead+Of+Trump+And+Putin%E2%80%99s+Alaska+Meeting">reported</a>. Trump has pressured both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the bloodshed that began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The president&#8217;s most recent harsh criticism, however, has been directed toward Putin, whom he has accused of appearing to show interest in peace talks before further inflaming tensions with major attacks on Ukraine.
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During the Trump-Putin summit, the two leaders are expected to discuss a potential land swap between Russia and Ukraine that Trump hinted at last week. Zelensky has pushed back on the idea of a land swap with Russia, saying that “Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.” Trump blasted Zelensky on Monday, saying that he disagrees with the Ukrainian president “very, very severely&#8221; and that he “was a little bothered” by Zelensky’s resistance to his peace plan.
Trump told Fox Radio’s Brian Kilmeade on Thursday that he believes Putin will agree to a deal.
“He’s going to make a deal. I think he’s going to. And we’re going to find out — I’m going to know very quickly,” the president said. He added that there&#8217;s a 25% chance that his meeting with Putin goes poorly, in which case he would immediately return to Washington, D.C.
Zelensky will not be included in the talks with Putin on Friday, but Trump <a href="https://wapo.st/45gzNoP">suggested</a> that he could meet with Zelensky and Putin in Alaska in a second meeting after the summit on Friday.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukraine Attacks Multiple Cities In Russia One Day Before Trump-Putin Summit

Donald Trump

Global Politics

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

World

President Trump&#8217;s federal crackdown in Washington, D.C., results in over 100 arrests in its first days as he plans to seek a long-term extension from Congress. President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set for a high-stakes summit in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The U.S. foreign-born population has plunged by a record 2.2 million people in six months as the Trump administration&#8217;s immigration enforcement ramps up. 
It’s Thursday, August 14, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. 
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2>D.C. Crackdown Yields Hundreds of Arrests</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-960605" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Just days after President Trump federalized the Washington, D.C., police force, a massive influx of National Guard troops and federal agents has resulted in over 100 arrests as the administration plans to seek a long-term extension of its control. 
Hours after Trump’s announcement on Monday, National Guardsmen and federal agents from the FBI, DEA, and ATF began sweeping the streets of the nation&#8217;s capital. The efforts have already resulted in more than 100 arrests, including a homicide suspect, 33 for firearm offenses, and 23 illegal immigrants. &#8220;We’re just getting started,&#8221; said FBI Director Kash Patel.
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Under the law, the president’s control of the D.C. police force lasts for 30 days, but Trump announced he will ask Congress for a long-term extension. He also plans to push for a new crime bill that would eliminate no-cash bail and create stricter penalties for juvenile offenders. 
Democrats have responded furiously, accusing the president of racism and renewing their calls for D.C. statehood. President Trump has dismissed the idea of statehood as &#8220;ridiculous&#8221; and a ploy for Democrats to &#8220;pick up two senators.&#8221; The D.C. Police Union has backed the president’s move, saying federal intervention is a &#8220;critical stopgap&#8221; for a city where crime is &#8220;out of control.&#8221;
&nbsp;
<h2>Trump and Putin to Meet in High-Stakes Summit</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-960609" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face in Alaska on Friday for a highly anticipated summit aimed at negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. 
The summit is the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House and is being framed by his administration as a &#8220;listening exercise.&#8221; According to Victoria Coates of the Heritage Foundation, significant economic pressure from the U.S. is a key factor in bringing Putin to the negotiating table. &#8220;The president&#8217;s been very harsh with India recently,&#8221; Coates told Morning Wire. &#8220;I think it shows he really wants to get their attention, really wants to get them off of Russian gas, and that&#8217;s what&#8217;s going to truly bring Putin to the table.&#8221; 
Discussions will likely focus on territorial swaps in the Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine. Recent comments from both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggest a slight softening of their positions. 
Coates gives Trump credit for his recent string of peace deals and for successfully pressuring NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP. &#8220;The Secretary General [Mark Rutte] also deserves a lot of credit for this unified message out of NATO and for encouraging President Trump to take this strong stand,&#8221; she said.
&nbsp;
<h2>U.S. Foreign-Born Population Plunges by Record 2.2 Million</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-960607" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.14.25-Thu-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: A new analysis shows the foreign-born population in the United States has plummeted by 2.2 million people in the first six months of 2025, the largest six-month decline ever recorded, as the Trump administration&#8217;s immigration enforcement continues to yield historic results. 
According to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Center for Immigration Studies, the entire 2.2 million decline was among noncitizens, with the illegal alien population estimated to have dropped by 1.6 million people. The drop is the result of stepped-up immigration enforcement and a combination of forced and self-deportations. 
The administration is also seeing historic success at the border itself. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that July saw the &#8220;lowest monthly nationwide encounters ever&#8221; and that for the third straight month, &#8220;not a single illegal alien was released by the Trump administration into the United States of America.&#8221; 
The immigration crackdown has also yielded a major victory in the fight against drug cartels. This week, Mexico agreed to extradite over two dozen top cartel leaders to U.S. authorities. The deal was reached after President Trump gave the Pentagon the green light to use military force against the cartels south of the border.

MRN 8.14.25 Thumbnail V2

Morning Brief: >100 Arrests Since Trump D.C. Takeover, Trump-Putin Peace Talks, Immigrant Exodus

Illegal Immigration

Politics

Washington D.C.

MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russian forces have made a sudden thrust into eastern Ukraine near the coal mining town of Dobropillia, a move that may be designed to increase the pressure on Kyiv to give up land as the U.S. and Russian presidents prepare to meet.
Ukraine&#8217;s authoritative DeepState war map showed on Tuesday that Russian forces had advanced by at least six miles north in two prongs in recent days, part of their drive to take full control of Ukraine&#8217;s Donetsk region.
The advance is one of the most dramatic in the last year. DeepState said the Russians had surged forward near three villages on a section of the frontline associated with the Ukrainian towns of Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk, which Moscow is trying to encircle by exploiting Kyiv&#8217;s lack of manpower.
&#8220;The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defense, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement,&#8221; DeepState said on its Telegram channel.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine when they meet in Alaska on Friday. Unconfirmed media reports say Putin has told Trump he wants Ukraine to hand over the part of the Donetsk region that Russia does not control.
There was no immediate comment on the advance from Moscow. Ukraine&#8217;s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had ordered reinforcements to be deployed &#8220;to detect and destroy enemy sabotage groups that penetrate the line of defense,&#8221; Andriy Kovalov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army, told Interfax-Ukraine.
He said Russia was using its numerical superiority to try to infiltrate Ukrainian defense lines in small groups and had made 35 attempts to push back Ukrainian units, suffering heavy losses in the process. Viktor Trehubov, another Ukrainian military spokesperson, played down the development, saying the infiltration did not amount to a breakthrough.
Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said the situation had escalated rapidly, with Russian forces infiltrating past Ukrainian lines to a depth of roughly 10 miles during the past three days.
&#8220;Forwardmost Russian units have reportedly reached the Dobropillia – Kramatorsk road T0514 and Russian infiltration groups have also been reported near Dobropillia proper,&#8221; he wrote on X.
<h3>RUSSIA MAY GAIN LEVERAGE FOR TRUMP TALKS</h3>
Tatarigami_UA, a former Ukrainian army officer whose Frontelligence Insight analysis tracks the conflict, posted: &#8220;In both 2014 and 2015, Russia launched major offensives ahead of negotiations to gain leverage. The current situation is serious, but far from the collapse some suggest.&#8221;
Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said the Russians had been able to advance because of &#8220;a partial collapse in the front&#8221; due to Ukraine&#8217;s shortage of soldiers.
&#8220;This breakthrough is like a gift to Putin and Trump during the negotiations,&#8221; Markov said, suggesting it could increase pressure on Kyiv to cede some land to prevent the Russian army eventually taking the rest of Donetsk by force.
To do that, though, Russian forces would first need to take control of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka &#8211; which Russian military analysts call &#8220;fortress cities.&#8221;
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly pushed back against the idea of ceding territory to Russia, saying any peace deal must be a just one.
Bohdan Krotevych, former chief of staff of Ukraine&#8217;s Azov brigade and a National Guard lieutenant colonel, took to X late on Monday to warn Zelensky of the threat, saying the frontline in the area was &#8220;a complete mess.&#8221;
&#8220;The line of combat engagement as a fixed line does not actually exist,&#8221; he said.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn in Moscow. Additional reporting by Dan Peleschuk and Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv. Editing by Kevin Liffey and Giles Elgood.)

A still image from video released by Russian Defense Ministry shows what it said to be Russian soldier raising flag in Yablunivka in Donetsk region

Russia Makes Sudden Advance In Ukraine Days Before Trump-Putin Summit

President Donald Trump ripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday after Zelensky rejected Trump&#8217;s idea of a land swap with Russia to end the war.
Trump <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-on-holds-news-conference-on-washington-dc-security/664010">told</a> reporters in the White House Briefing Room that he disagrees with Zelensky &#8220;very, very severely,&#8221; adding that he &#8220;was a little bothered&#8221; by Zelensky&#8217;s resistance to his peace plan.
“I get along with Zelensky, but, you know, I disagree with what he’s done, very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened,” Trump said.
“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’ I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap, because there’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody — for the good of Ukraine,” he added. &#8220;Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They&#8217;ve occupied some very prime territory. We&#8217;re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine.&#8221;
Zelensky <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/world/europe/zelensky-trump-ukraine-russia.html">said</a> on Saturday that &#8220;Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,&#8221; adding, “Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will bring nothing. These are dead decisions; they will never work.”
A potential land swap was discussed by President Trump last Friday, just before he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-says-hell-end-war-with-ukraine-with-one-major-concession?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Putin+Says+He%E2%80%99ll+End+War+With+Ukraine+With+One+Major+Concession">revealed plans</a> to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska at the end of this week. Putin reportedly told Trump envoy Steve Witkoff last week that he would end the war against Ukraine in exchange for the region in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbas. Russian troops have taken over large swaths of eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces continue to fight back, seeking to push out the Russian invaders.
“Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky wants to see peace,” Trump said at the White House last Friday.
He added that there would be “some swapping” of territories between Russia and Ukraine.
&#8220;It’s very complicated, but we’re going to get some back and we’re going to get some switched … to the betterment of both.&#8221;
Zelensky was not invited to meet with Trump and Putin in Alaska, but one of Trump&#8217;s stipulations for meeting with the Russian president is that Putin would agree to hold talks with Zelensky. Trump has publicly bashed both Zelensky and Putin in the past, with most of his recent criticism focusing on Putin and Russia&#8217;s continued targeting of Ukrainian civilian centers.
“We’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said on Monday. “Ultimately, I’m going to put the two of them in a room. I’ll be there, or I won’t be there, and I think it’ll get solved.&#8221;

Donald Trump/Volodymyr Zelensky

Trump Blasts Zelensky For Showing Resistance To Potential Land Swap With Russia

Vice President JD Vance made “significant progress” in meetings with European officials ahead of President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to a source familiar with the matter, at the request of the United States, Vance met with United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy and other officials to discuss the war in Ukraine ahead of Trump’s Friday meeting in Alaska.
“Saturday’s hours-long meetings produced significant progress toward President Trump’s goal of bringing an end to the war in Ukraine, ahead of President Trump and President Putin’s upcoming meeting in Alaska,” a United States official told The Daily Wire.
On Friday, Vance met with Lammy at Chevening House in Kent, England, and on Saturday met with Lammy and others to discuss the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and economic and technology goals.
The meetings come as Trump makes another effort to bring the over 3-year-long war in Ukraine to an end.
Last week, Trump said that there will “be some swapping of territories, to the betterment” of both Russia and Ukraine. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more sanctions and pressure to be exerted on Russia <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1954609405863071994" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a video posted</a> to X on Sunday.
“Everyone sees that there has been no real step from Russia toward peace, no action on the ground or in the air that could save lives,” he said. “That is why sanctions are needed, pressure is needed. Strength is needed — of the United States, of Europe, of all nations in the world that want peace and stability in international relations. If Russia does not want to stop the war, then its economy must be stopped.”
Zelenskyy has pushed to join the meeting, though he has not been formally invited.
Vance said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the United States is working on setting up a meeting that includes Zelenskyy, but does not believe it should happen until after Trump meets with Putin.
“One of the most important logjams is that Vladimir Putin said that he would never sit down with Zelenskyy, the head of Ukraine, and the president has now got that to change,” Vance said.
Zelenskyy has not met with Putin since the war began.
On Saturday, the Russian government issued a <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/77745" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> praising the location of the meeting.
“Russia and the United States are close neighbours, they share borders. So it does make sense if our delegation simply crosses the Bering Strait and if such an important and expected meeting between the two leaders takes place specifically in Alaska,” the statement reads. “However, the presidents will undoubtedly focus on discussing ways to reach a sustainable settlement to the Ukraine crisis.”
The statement added that the next meeting should take place in Russia.
“An invitation to that effect has already been made to the President of the United States,” the statement adds.

Vice President JD Vance

Vance Makes ‘Significant Progress’ In Europe Ahead Of Trump’s Meeting With Putin In Alaska

JD Vance

Putin

As President Donald Trump gears up to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, all eyes — and ears — are on him and everything he says in the days leading up to the summit.
For those who don&#8217;t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television — and their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week&#8217;s worth of network and cable news media spin — The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of what you may have missed.
Trump&#8217;s meeting with Putin is drawing attention for a number of reasons — not the least of which being the it could put an end to more than three years of brutality and bloodshed in Ukraine — but not everyone lining up to discuss the very important summit on the Sunday morning political shows appeared to have any faith or interest in it going well.
&#8220;We know that President Trump has wanted to meet with Vladimir Putin for a long time. He likes that one-on-one,&#8221; Martha Raddatz gave her take on the situation on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“We know that President Trump has wanted to meet with Vladimir Putin for a long time. He likes that one-on-one,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MarthaRaddatz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarthaRaddatz</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> ahead of Trump’s upcoming meeting with the Russian president on Friday. <a href="https://t.co/muTVAKm2fT">https://t.co/muTVAKm2fT</a> <a href="https://t.co/uNJFlhMhKu">pic.twitter.com/uNJFlhMhKu</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1954534969646178757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte seemed to be optimistic about the meeting — and told host Jonathan Karl as much. The meeting, he said, &#8220;will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Friday’s summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end.” <a href="https://t.co/hRb4oV0Vss">https://t.co/hRb4oV0Vss</a> <a href="https://t.co/3o44OuTNRm">pic.twitter.com/3o44OuTNRm</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1954535625689874864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He added that he had seen &#8220;clear evidence that President Trump is absolutely adamant to bring this war to an end, but also to keep maximum pressure on Putin.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ahead of the Trump-Putin summit on Friday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that there is “clear evidence that President Trump is absolutely adamant to bring this war to an end, but also to keep maximum pressure on Putin.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/jMxgEsJfRE">https://t.co/jMxgEsJfRE</a> <a href="https://t.co/59WBWfZL2Z">pic.twitter.com/59WBWfZL2Z</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1954542232956023006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rutte also pushed back on &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; host Margaret Brennan — who compared the Trump-Putin summit to the appeasement of Nazi Germany in 1938 — and argued that it was good for Trump to have brought Putin to the negotiating table.
&#8220;Obviously, when it comes to peace talks, the ceasefire, and what happens after that on territories, on security guarantees for Ukraine, Ukraine will have to be and will be involved,” Rutte said. “But on Friday, it is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump.”
“It&#8217;s really crucial that a meeting takes place,” he continued. “It is important to start the next phase of this process, putting pressure on the Russians exactly as President Trump has been doing over the last six months.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says President Trump “will test&#8221; Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska this Friday.
&#8220;It is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump,&#8221; he says, though he adds that &#8220;there… <a href="https://t.co/V4q1B7VgJE">pic.twitter.com/V4q1B7VgJE</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1954579621959323997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Former National Security Advisor John Bolton cast doubt on the event, saying, &#8220;I think this is a very risky meeting upcoming from the perspective not just of Ukraine, but the Western alliance.&#8221;
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“I think this is a very risky meeting upcoming from the perspective not just of Ukraine, but the Western alliance,” former Trump national security adviser John Bolton said ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. <a href="https://t.co/uYPr7zNoD1">https://t.co/uYPr7zNoD1</a> <a href="https://t.co/1p7hOorR3N">pic.twitter.com/1p7hOorR3N</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1954544715346366910?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bolton went on to claim that Trump was more interested in the possibility of recognition than he was in doing what was right to secure lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. &#8220;I think what Trump has done is make it clear that he wants a Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else,&#8221; he said.
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“I think what Trump has done is make it clear that he wants a Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else,&#8221; Pres. Trump&#8217;s former national security adviser John Bolton told <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> when asked about Trump&#8217;s international record. <a href="https://t.co/ai4XPqIlro">https://t.co/ai4XPqIlro</a> <a href="https://t.co/cHPbJYZ68B">pic.twitter.com/cHPbJYZ68B</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1954546302089367579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce made it sound like the meeting was proof of Trump&#8217;s willingness to give Putin the upper hand in negotiations.
&#8220;The Alaska summit — which will be Putin’s first trip to the United States in nearly a decade and his first meeting with an American president in more than four years — allows Putin to avoid the new sanctions,&#8221; she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“The Alaska summit — which will be Putin’s first trip to the United States in nearly a decade and his first meeting with an American president in more than four years — allows Putin to avoid the new sanctions.” <a href="https://twitter.com/marykbruce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MaryKBruce</a> on the Trump-Putin meeting: <a href="https://t.co/lSWoYe1z1f">https://t.co/lSWoYe1z1f</a> <a href="https://t.co/EQuzAxsxpt">pic.twitter.com/EQuzAxsxpt</a>
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1954549374920397274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) tried to stay neutral on the issue, telling CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash on &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; &#8220;Vladimir Putin is a really awful guy… If in fact an agreement can be negotiated which does not compromise what the Ukrainians feel that they need, I think that&#8217;s a positive step forward. We all want to see an end to the bloodshed.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSanders</a> responds to Trump’s upcoming summit with Putin: “Vladimir Putin is a really awful guy… If in fact an agreement can be negotiated which does not compromise what the Ukrainians feel that they need, I think that&#8217;s a positive step forward. We all want to see an end to… <a href="https://t.co/Ts0C6OIwuH">pic.twitter.com/Ts0C6OIwuH</a>
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1954536672835539015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova told Brennan that she believed Trump would negotiate with Putin &#8220;from the position of strength,&#8221; arguing that he had already sanctioned India and had threatened additional sanctions on Russia.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When asked whether it is a concern Russian President Putin will “talk his way into further land seizures” while negotiating for an end to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova says she is “confident” the U.S. will negotiate with Putin “from the… <a href="https://t.co/raWqVksdP4">pic.twitter.com/raWqVksdP4</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1954570972138287598?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-sets-condition-for-putin-to-meet-trump">Trump and Putin</a> are set to meet in Alaska on Friday.

Donald Trump/Vladimir Putin

Spin Cycle: Russia, Russia, And You Guessed It — More Russia

Media

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced support on Sunday for President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that is scheduled for later this week.
Rutte appeared on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” and <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1954557171477176434">said</a> that Trump “broke the deadlock” and opened Putin to peace negotiations. In response to a question from host Margaret Brennan that compared the Trump-Putin meeting to appeasement of the Nazis in 1938, Rutte said Friday’s meeting will be about “testing” how serious Putin is about a ceasefire or an end to the war in Ukraine.
“Obviously, when it comes to peace talks, the ceasefire, and what happens after that on territories, on security guarantees for Ukraine, Ukraine will have to be and will be involved,” Rutte said. “But on Friday, it is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump.”
“It&#8217;s really crucial that a meeting takes place,” he continued. “It is important to start the next phase of this process, putting pressure on the Russians exactly as President Trump has been doing over the last six months.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says President Trump “will test&#8221; Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska this Friday.
&#8220;It is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump,&#8221; he says, though he adds that &#8220;there… <a href="https://t.co/V4q1B7VgJE">pic.twitter.com/V4q1B7VgJE</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1954579621959323997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
Putin has reportedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-says-hell-end-war-with-ukraine-with-one-major-concession">told</a> the Trump administration that Russia would end the war if Ukraine ceded control of its eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which Russia largely controls though Ukraine’s military is fighting back in some spots. Putin also demanded recognition of Russian control of the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
On Friday, Trump said that a peace between Ukraine and Russia could involve “some swapping” of territories, a suggestion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky flatly rejected on Saturday.
“Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” said Zelensky, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/world/europe/zelensky-trump-ukraine-russia.html">The New York Times</a>.
“Any decisions made against us, any decisions made without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace,” Zelensky added in a <a href="https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/15575">video</a> posted to Telegram. “They will bring nothing. These are dead decisions; they will never work.”
Ukrainian support for continuing the war against Russia has collapsed, according to a Gallup <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/693203/ukrainian-support-war-effort-collapses.aspx">poll</a> released last week. Support for finding a negotiated solution to end the war has surged to 69% up from 52% last year. Support to continue fighting dropped from 38% to 24% over the same period.

Mark Rutte

NATO Head Backs Meeting With Putin, Says Trump ‘Broke The Deadlock’

NATO

Vice President JD Vance gave a preview of his expectations for President Donald Trump&#8217;s planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
&#8220;Look, it&#8217;s actually very simple,&#8221; Vance said during a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6376764434112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News interview</a> with &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures&#8221; anchor Maria Bartiromo. &#8220;If you take where the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine is, we&#8217;re going to try to find some negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and the Russians can live with, where they can live in relative peace, where the killing stops.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Watch Part 1 of <a href="https://twitter.com/MariaBartiromo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MariaBartiromo</a>&#8216;s exclusive interview with <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDVance</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/SundayFutures?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SundayFutures</a> discussing the wars in Ukraine &amp; Israel, and the future of redistricting<a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FoxNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/8HUL7DO7z1">pic.twitter.com/8HUL7DO7z1</a>
— SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) <a href="https://twitter.com/SundayFutures/status/1954549055591231831?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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He continued, &#8220;It&#8217;s not going to make anybody super happy. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it. But I don&#8217;t think you can actually sit down and have this negotiation absent the leadership of Donald J. Trump.&#8221;
Trump <a href="https://x.com/realDailyWire/status/1953940896203919604" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Truth Social that he would meet Putin in Alaska on Friday. He also <a href="https://x.com/FoxNews/status/1953921321563218367" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters that</a> a potential deal would include &#8220;some swapping of territories&#8221; to end the years-long conflict, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/world/europe/zelensky-trump-ukraine-russia.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rejected</a> the idea of giving up land.
Vance contended that he did not believe a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy before Trump&#8217;s expected meeting with Putin would be &#8220;that productive&#8221; to the peace effort.
&#8220;I think, fundamentally, the president of the United States has to be the one to kind of bring these two together,&#8221; Vance said, adding that &#8220;fundamentally, this is something where the president needs to force President Putin and President Zelenskyy really to sit down to figure out their differences.&#8221;
Vance said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff have been helping the Trump administration reach a breakthrough. He noted that one of the &#8220;most important logjams&#8221; was Putin saying that he would never sit down for a conversation with Zelenskyy.
&#8220;And the president has now got that to change,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;We&#8217;re at a point now where we&#8217;re now trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict.&#8221;

Vance Makes ‘Very Simple’ Prediction For Trump-Putin Meeting

U.S.

White House

A White House official told <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/07/us-news/trump-to-meet-putin-in-coming-days-with-venue-to-be-announced-later-kremlin-says/">The New York Post</a> on Thursday that for President Donald Trump to agree to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader must also agree to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia said earlier on Thursday that the United States had agreed &#8220;in principle&#8221; to a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin, with a location for the meeting being secured. The White House rejected Russia&#8217;s assertion, however, saying that no location had been decided upon and that Trump had not yet agreed to meet with the Russian president. The White House added that Putin must agree to sit face-to-face with Zelensky for any meeting with Trump to take place. ABC News also <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/kremlin-trump-putin-agreed-meeting-coming-days/story?id=124438908">reported</a> on the White House&#8217;s stipulation.
The Kremlin said earlier on Thursday that a &#8220;meeting between Putin and Trump [will take place] in the coming days,&#8221; adding that &#8220;work on the summit has now begun.&#8221;
&#8220;The venue of the meeting between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, has been agreed, and the Kremlin will inform about it later,&#8221; Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
The statement from Russia came one day after Trump&#8217;s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-envoy-steve-witkoff-holds-3-hour-meeting-with-putin-as-peace-deadline-nears?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Envoy+Steve+Witkoff+Holds+3-Hour+Meeting+With+Putin+As+Peace+Deadline+Nears">met</a> with Putin for around three hours, discussing the war with Ukraine and Russia&#8217;s relationship with the United States. After Witkoff briefed Trump on the meeting, the president reportedly told Zelensky and European leaders in a phone call that he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-looking-to-meet-with-putin-zelensky-next-week-report?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Looking+To+Meet+With+Putin%2C+Zelensky+Next+Week%3A+Report">plans</a> to meet with Putin next week. Trump said that he only wanted to meet with Putin and Zelensky — with no European counterparts in the room, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/us/politics/trump-meeting-putin-zelensky.html">reported</a>.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged on Wednesday afternoon that a Trump-Putin summit in the &#8220;near future&#8221; is possible, but added that &#8220;a lot has to happen before that can occur.&#8221;
“Today was a good day, but we got a lot of work ahead. There are still many impediments to overcome,” Rubio said.
Since the war began in February 2022, Putin has rebuffed any attempts to meet with Zelensky, claiming that he is an illegitimate leader after he suspended elections under martial law. Trump has been pushing Putin to get a peace deal done with Ukraine, giving Moscow until Friday to come to an agreement before the United States imposes secondary tariffs on Russia, a move that could affect Russia&#8217;s war chest by punishing countries that continue to send cash to the Russian regime in exchange for oil.

White House Sets Condition For Putin To Meet Trump

Executive

President Donald Trump told European leaders in a phone call on Wednesday that he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week as he hopes to see the warring nations reach a peace deal, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/us/politics/trump-meeting-putin-zelensky.html">reported</a>.
Trump spoke to some of America&#8217;s European allies shortly after hearing a report from his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-envoy-steve-witkoff-holds-3-hour-meeting-with-putin-as-peace-deadline-nears?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Envoy+Steve+Witkoff+Holds+3-Hour+Meeting+With+Putin+As+Peace+Deadline+Nears">met with Putin</a> in Moscow earlier on Wednesday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that during the meeting with Witkoff, Putin proposed a summit with Trump, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/06/putin-trump-meeting-ukraine-ceasefire">reported</a>.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox Business Wednesday afternoon that a Trump-Putin summit is possible in the &#8220;near future.&#8221;
&#8220;If things continue to progress, an opportunity will present itself very soon for the president to meet both with Vladimir Putin and with President Zelensky at some point here, hopefully in the near future,&#8221; Rubio <a href="https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1953196378328375690">said</a>. &#8220;But obviously, a lot has to happen before that can occur.&#8221;
&#8220;Today was a good day, but we got a lot of work ahead. There are still many impediments to overcome,&#8221; Rubio added.
The president reportedly said that he wanted the meeting to only include Putin, Zelensky, and himself — and no European counterparts, according to the Times. No location has been decided on for a potential summit between the world leaders. Trump&#8217;s phone call also included Zelensky, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Trump said earlier on Wednesday that Witkoff &#8220;had a highly productive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.&#8221;
&#8220;Great progress was made! Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114982898525988419">wrote</a> on Truth Social.
The Kremlin added that the talks between Putin and Witkoff resulted in “a very useful and constructive conversation.&#8221;
If a meeting comes to fruition next week, it would be just past Trump&#8217;s deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, a deadline that hits on Friday. The president has become increasingly frustrated with Putin as the Russian dictator continues to carry out deadly strikes on Ukrainian civilian centers and has shown no sign of bringing an end to the fighting.
If Russia does not reach a peace deal with Ukraine by the end of the week, Trump has threatened to punish the country with secondary tariffs, which would be placed on nations that do business with Russia in hopes of cutting into Putin&#8217;s war chest. A U.S. official told Axios that the secondary tariffs are still expected to come down on Russia and its oil customers on Friday.
Last week, Trump also sent a stern warning to Moscow in the form of two nuclear submarines, which he said he repositioned after &#8220;inflammatory&#8221; comments from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin

Trump Looking To Meet With Putin, Zelensky Next Week: Report

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) — Russian airstrikes on a prison and hospital in southeastern Ukraine killed at least 19 people, officials said on Tuesday, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he would start imposing punitive measures on Russia within 10 days if Moscow showed no progress toward ending its war in Ukraine.
Sixteen of the people were killed when Russia bombed a prison in the frontline Zaporizhzhia region in an attack Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was deliberate. He said 43 people were injured in the incident.
&#8220;The Russians knew it was a civilian facility. They could not have been unaware,&#8221; Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
&#8220;Each such Russian strike, each instance of Russian arrogance in response to global calls to end the war, all this only confirms that pressure is necessary.&#8221;
Separately, a missile strike on a hospital in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region killed a 23-year-old pregnant woman and two others.
Zelensky earlier said a total of 22 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.
Russia, which denied targeting civilians in Tuesday&#8217;s attacks, has intensified airstrikes on Ukrainian towns and cities behind the front lines of its full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year, as it gradually pushes ahead on the battlefield. Russian forces hold around a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
<div id="attachment_954043" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-954043" class="wp-image-954043 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/2025-07-29T200245Z_2_LYNXMPEL6S0P1_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-ATTACK-ZAPORIZHZHIA-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />A serviceman accompanies a prisoner at the site of the penal colony hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia&#8217;s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, July 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer</div>
Trump, underscoring his frustration with Putin, said in Scotland on Monday he was shortening his earlier deadline of 50 days to 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress towards ending the war.
On Tuesday, aboard Air Force One, he said he had heard no reply from Russia and could begin slapping tariffs and other measures on Moscow within 10 days.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had &#8220;taken note&#8221; of Trump&#8217;s earlier statement. &#8220;The special military operation continues,&#8221; said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war effort in Ukraine.
Following Tuesday&#8217;s attack on the prison, across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territory, injured inmates waded through rubble and broken glass.
Bandaged and bloody, they sat stunned as guards yelled out a roll call.
Ukraine&#8217;s Justice Ministry said the prison&#8217;s dining hall had been destroyed and other parts of the facility damaged in a strike that involved four high-explosive bombs and also wounded 42 people.
It had originally said 17 people were killed, but later revised its tally.
&#8220;People were screaming, moaning,&#8221; said prisoner Yaroslav Samarskiy, 54, recalling the aftermath of the strike.
&#8220;Some dead, some alive, some without legs &#8211; half of them burned.&#8221;
Separately, five people were killed on Tuesday morning in the northeastern Kharkiv region after a Russian strike on a humanitarian aid point in a frontline village, a senior police official said.
(Reporting by Serhiy Chalyi in Zaporizhzhia and Dan Peleschuk in Kyiv; additional reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; editing by Sharon Singleton, Mark Heinrich, Ron Popeski, Rod Nickel)

Aftermath of a Russian air attack in Zaporizhzhia region

Russian Airstrikes On Prison, Hospital Kill 19 In Southeastern Ukraine

President Donald Trump reiterated on Monday that he is &#8220;disappointed&#8221; with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he will &#8220;reduce&#8221; the 50-day deadline he gave to Putin two weeks ago to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday, Trump said that every time there appears to be some progress with Putin on ending the war, Russia launches another attack on Ukraine.
&#8220;We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city, like Kyiv, and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. You have bodies lying all over the street,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And I said, &#8216;That&#8217;s not the way to do it.'&#8221;
Trump elaborated on the new timeline later on Monday.
&#8220;I&#8217;m going to make the new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There&#8217;s no reason in waiting,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We just don&#8217;t see any progress being made.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Trump on Putin: &#8220;I&#8217;m gonna make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/VsUMbwb8pt">pic.twitter.com/VsUMbwb8pt</a>
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1949818884573261843?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
During a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-strikes-deal-with-nato-to-send-weapons-to-ukraine-on-europes-dime?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Strikes+Deal+With+NATO+To+Send+Weapons+To+Ukraine+On+Europe%E2%80%99s+Dime">meeting</a> in the Oval Office with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on July 14, Trump said that he would hit Russia with 100% tariffs if Putin didn&#8217;t reach a peace deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky within the initial 50-day deadline.
The 100% tariffs on Russia would come in the form of &#8220;secondary tariffs,&#8221; which would penalize countries that do business with Putin, such as those purchasing Russian oil and gas. Reuters reported last week that sources close to the Kremlin said Putin was unfazed by Trump&#8217;s deadline.
In recent weeks, Russia has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clear-escalation-of-terror-russia-hits-kyiv-with-another-major-missile-and-drone-attack?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Clear+Escalation+Of+Terror%E2%80%99%3A+Russia+Hits+Kyiv+With+Another+Major+Missile+And+Drone+Attack">ramped up</a> its attacks on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv with massive drone and missile strikes. Multiple civilians have been killed and dozens more wounded in Russia&#8217;s latest attacks, which were carried out as Moscow and Kyiv continue to meet for peace talks.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul last week for another round of peace talks, but the discussions yielded no significant progress. In the multiple rounds of negotiations between the warring countries, they have only agreed to exchange prisoners. The Kremlin wants Ukraine to give up the land Russian forces have taken after invading Ukraine more than three years ago, a request that Zelensky has shut down. Putin, meanwhile, has denied Zelensky&#8217;s requests for an in-person meeting, arguing that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader after the country declared martial law and did not hold a presidential election last year.

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