Ukrainians in Kyiv have been shocked by the U.S. welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin with a red carpet in Alaska.

For Russia, the results of the Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin marked a turning point in U.S.-Russian relations underlined by the United States subsequently abandoning its demand for a halt in fighting in Ukraine.

The meeting represented a diplomatic victory for Putin after Western leaders ostracized him at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just a week earlier, Trump was threatening him with new sanctions.

President Donald Trump is set to travel to Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday morning to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the first US-Russia summit since former President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

In a shift, Trump now aligns more closely with Putin than allies in Europe in calling for final talks before a ceasefire

Trump says "some great progress" was made with Putin, and he will speak with European leaders and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky soon.

President Trump and aides have raised and lowered expectations for his Friday summit with Vladimir Putin, making the meeting hard to grade.

Former ABC News reporter Terry Moran said President Donald Trump’s “alpha male” act dissolves on contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moran, who was fired from the network for describing Trump and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as “world-class” haters,