Trump said that Putin accepted that any peace would need to include the presence of Western troops in Ukraine as a way of ensuring its durability.

U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course in the wake of his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to say an overall peace agreement — not the ceasefire that he has long championed — is the next step in ending the 3 1/2-year war in Ukraine.

Zelensky has rejected Russian demands to cede Ukrainian land. The Ukrainian leader and his European partners, including the leaders of Britain, France and Germany, had lobbied the White House for weeks to demand that Moscow agree to a ceasefire before any negotiations.

European leaders said President Trump offered his backing during a call they held ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.

The problem is that they have no strategy of their own for ending the Ukraine war, other than hoping to contain Russia over the longer term.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin head to Alaska on Friday for a high-stakes summit as the U.S. seeks a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.One key party who will not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage,