August 19, 2025: White House says Putin-Zelensky meeting plans are ‘underway’ following Trump meetings

Our live coverage of the diplomatic efforts surrounding the war in Ukraine has ended. You can scroll down to learn more about the day’s developments and take a look at our analysis of the latest events below.

Analysis: Why Putin is not ready to meet with Zelensky, and may never be

The perils and pitfalls in providing Ukraine with security guarantees

Analysis: Ukraine wants a ‘ceasefire,’ Putin and Trump want a ‘peace deal.’ Here’s the big difference

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff waits for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, on July 13.

US envoy Steve Witkoff shared new details today about the high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, saying that Russian officials made concessions “almost immediately.”

“There were concessions almost immediately made on the part of the Russians in the first meeting in Alaska,” Witkoff told Fox News. “Part of getting those concessions was learning whether we were going to be able to see the Russians prepared to be more accommodating.”

Witkoff added that Trump and his team were focused on a long-term peace deal rather than a temporary ceasefire during the meeting in Anchorage.

President Donald Trump said he thought it’d be better if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet without him while discussing the potential bilateral between the two leaders.

“I had a very successful meeting with President Zelensky and now I thought it would be better if they met without me, just to see — I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship very bad, very bad relationship,” Trump said on “The Mark Levin Show” on Tuesday evening.

“And now we’ll see how they do. And if necessary — and it probably would be — but if necessary, I’ll go and I’ll probably be able to get it closed. I just want to see what happens at the meeting. So they’re in the process of setting it up, and we’re going to see what happens.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

President Vladimir Putin has not committed to a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, though the White House said plans for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders are underway.

But, there’s a critical piece of information still up in the air: an exact date.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes breaks down why confirming specifics is so important:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A number of locations are being considered for both the bilateral meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladamir Putin, as well as the subsequent trilateral meeting that would include President Donald Trump, three White House officials tell CNN.

Among them are Budapest and Switzerland, the officials said.

One official said that Trump himself had discussed the possibility of Budapest in a recent phone conversation with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of Trump and Putin.

White House officials had eyed Hungary as a finalist for the Trump-Putin summit last week. A war crimes warrant issued in 2023 by the International Criminal Court in 2023 calling for Putin’s arrest caused Russia to balk at most other European destinations. But the US and Russia ultimately agreed to hold the meeting on a military base in Alaska.

The officials noted that nothing was close to being finalized for the next summit and multiple sites had been floated for both events and were being discussed.

One official told CNN that planning around the trilateral had been put on the back burner yesterday after Trump announced there would be a meeting first with just Putin and Zelensky.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio answers reporter questions in the Treaty Room of the State Department on August 6.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead a working group to draft a proposal for security guarantees for Ukraine, a White House official and another source familiar told CNN.

Rubio, who also serves as interim national security adviser, will work with European national security advisers on the proposal meant to ensure Ukraine’s defense if it agrees to a deal with Russia to end the war.

Axios first reported that Rubio would lead the discussions.

Another source familiar said there will be a number of meetings taking place in the coming days to discuss the potential security guarantees.

Earlier today, President Donald Trump ruled out the potential for US forces on the ground in Ukraine, but left the door open to other possible US support.

“The president understands security guarantees are crucially important to ensure a lasting peace, and he has directed his national security team to coordinate with our friends in Europe and also to continue to cooperate and discuss these matters with Ukraine and Russia as well,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing.

Belarus can organize a potential meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin at Moscow’s request, the press secretary of the Belarusian leader was quoted as saying by Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper.

“Belarus did not ask for the role of mediator and is not asking for it, but if it is necessary for peace in our brotherly republic — we are ready to organize any meeting,” Natalya Eismont reportedly said.

She noted, however, that this topic was not discussed during a recent phone conversation between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and US President Donald Trump.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said today.

Leavitt also said the US is working with both Russia and Ukraine “to make that bilateral happen.”

Here’s what we know — so far — about a possible Putin-Zelensky meeting:

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a press conference on July 30.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney participated in the virtual meeting of Ukraine’s allies, also known as the “Coalition of the Willing,” alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Leaders welcomed the openness of the United States to providing security guarantees to support long-term peace and security for Ukraine and Europe,” the statement from Carney’s office reads. “This approach is consistent with the principles of no decisions about Ukraine being taken without Ukraine and no decisions about Europe being taken without Europe.”

Carney has focused on strengthening Canadian ties with Europe as he grapples with an ongoing trade dispute with the United States. Soon after becoming prime minister, Carney took his first international trip to the United Kingdom and France to meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who together chaired Tuesday’s Coalition meeting.

At the meeting, Carney affirmed Canada’s intention to provide “further military and financial support for Ukraine,” along with “continued military and economic pressure on Russia to end its aggression, and close co-ordination with President Zelensky on the development of robust and credible security guarantees.”

The statement added that Canada “welcomes” US First Lady Melania Trump’s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin urging him “to consider the plight of children in ending this war.”

Both US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have raised the importance of the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the ongoing war.

However, the Trump administration cut funding to a leading organization that tracks evidence of Russian war crimes, including the forced relocation of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children.

The Ukraine Conflict Observatory was run by Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab and established with State Department backing in 2022 to work “to capture, analyze, and make widely available evidence of Russia-perpetrated war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.”

The group produced reports on a slew of alleged Russian war crimes, including the extent of Moscow’s efforts to relocate, re-educate, and sometimes militarily train or forcibly adopt out Ukrainian children.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged war crime of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children.

As CNN reported in March, the administration terminated financial support for the Ukraine Conflict Observatory. Funding was temporarily restored to later that month to allow the repository of evidence on the alleged Russian war crimes to be sent to the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol.

In June, a group of lawmakers called on the State Department to disburse approximately $8 million that the agency told Congress in late 2024 would be used to support the Ukraine Conflict Observatory’s work. Two congressional aides said Tuesday that to their knowledge, the funding has not been disbursed.

The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab has raised enough money through private donations to continue its work until January 1, the executive director said, but it doesn’t know what will happen after that.

Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, is pictured at the UN headquarters, in October 2024.

Switzerland is open to hosting Russia-Ukraine peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told CNN’s broadcast partner SRF on Tuesday.

“We are ready for such a meeting, and we are thankful for the trust placed in us,” Cassis said on the sidelines of a diplomatic conference in Bern. “We have always signaled our willingness, but it, of course, hinges on the willingness of the major powers.”

Cassis added that if Putin attended any talks in Switzerland, the Swiss government would make special arrangements due to the open International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants against the Russian leader.

“We have clarified the legal situation,” Cassis said. “We could hold such a meeting, and we know what needs to be done to ensure it goes smoothly. We can do this despite the arrest warrant against Putin because of our special role and Geneva’s role as the European headquarters of the UN.”

CNN has reached out to the Swiss Foreign Ministry for comment. In a statement to Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, the ministry said that “Switzerland is ready to offer its services if they are useful and desired by all parties. This includes its role as a host or mediator in conducting discussions and meetings.”

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with European leaders in the East Room of the White House on Monday.

World leaders are back to work in their home countries after a day of meetings on a potential end to the war in Ukraine at the White House yesterday.

That includes US President Donald Trump, who today ruled out sending American troops to enforce a potential peace deal in Ukraine.

Here are some of the top news headlines from the president today:

Plans for a bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are now “underway,” with “many options” being discussed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday.

She repeatedly declined to answer questions about specific locations.

“Both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other, and so our national security team will help both countries do that,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House briefing.

Pressed by CNN’s Kristen Holmes on how the plans shifted — from a possible trilateral to a bilateral first — Leavitt said that “it was an idea that evolved in the course of the president’s conversations with both President Putin, President Zelensky, and European leaders,” who, she said, “all agree that this is a great first step.”

Trump, she added, is “agreeable” to the idea of a bilateral meeting without a US presence.

“Ultimately, the president has always said that there are areas of disagreement in this war that will have to be discussed and decided upon by these two countries. And so, he wants these two countries to engage in direct diplomacy,” she said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated today that President Donald Trump has “definitively ruled out” sending US troops to Ukraine as part of any security guarantees to bring about a peace deal with Russia, but she did not rule out other military options, including in the skies.

“It is an option and a possibility. I won’t certainly rule out anything as far as military options that the president has at his disposal. I’ll let him do that. I can tell you he’s definitively ruled out boots on the ground,” Leavitt said at the White House press briefing, when asked about the US providing “air” options as a form of security for Ukraine.

Trump himself said earlier today he could provide his personal assurance that he would not put US troops on the ground in Ukraine to enforce a peace deal with Russia.

Leavitt also said Trump directed his national security team to coordinate with Europe and to continue to discuss the matter with Ukraine and Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Leavitt was asked by a reporter if Putin promised to have a direct meeting in the coming weeks.

“He has, and I just answered that question for you,” she said during a news briefing.

Earlier, in response to a question from CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Leavitt had been far less definitive on whether Putin had agreed to the meeting.

“I can assure you that the United States government and the Trump administration is working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen,” she said.

Remember: Hours earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had refused to commit to a meeting between Putin and Zelensky — but stopped short of ruling out further talks.

A Russian missile struck and damaged a Jewish cemetery in southern Ukraine, according to the country’s chief rabbi.

“Today, a Russian missile struck an ancient Jewish cemetery in the town of Pervomaisk in the Mykolaiv region,” Chief Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman wrote in a post on Facebook on Tuesday. “The strike hit the center of the cemetery, damaging many graves…”

Azman added that he had spoken to the town’s rabbi and that rescue workers and specialists were on the scene.

“The full extent of this crime will be assessed in the near future,” Azman wrote. “Russian missiles not only kill innocent people, but also disturb the dead!”

“Unfortunately, this is not the first such incident,” the rabbi continued. “Jewish cemeteries in Kyiv, Hlukhiv, Bila Tserkva and other places have already been hit.”

Azman noted that in the past, Russia had even struck Babyn Yar, the site where Nazi Germany carried out one of the largest massacres of the Holocaust. Damage to the site and its memorial in 2022 provoked outrage in Ukraine and abroad.

“The dead cannot answer or defend themselves, but it is the duty of the living to do so!” Azman concluded.

CNN has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.

Ukrainian serviceman wait next to a military truck equipped with an anti-aircraft twin gun during a Russian air attack near Pavlograd, Dnipropetrovsk region on July 19.

European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas said the European Union would help train Ukrainian soldiers and slap new sanctions on Russia after a virtual meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” on Tuesday.

“Putin cannot be trusted to honour any promise or commitment,” Kallas wrote in a post on X. “Therefore, security guarantees must be strong and credible enough to deter Russia from re-grouping and re-attacking.”

Among those security guarantees, Kallas continued, will be EU training for “Ukrainian soldiers and strengthening Ukraine’s armed forces and defence industry.”

Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the British prime minister’s office said in a statement that the coalition had discussed how sanctions “could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.”

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru is seen during joint press briefing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in July.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that his country will participate in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security but remained tight-lipped on what this would involve, Nippon reported.

However, Ishiba stressed that Japan is “not in the phase where we can provide details” about the support it can offer Ukraine.

While not a formal member of NATO, Japan works closely with the military alliance, and Ishiba’s comments are a measure of how many Western countries are prepared to help defend Ukraine in the event of future Russian aggression, after a peace deal is struck to end Moscow’s invasion.

Following Monday’s meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, European leaders have been discussing how they can provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the future, including by deploying a peacekeeping force.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Monday that 30 countries – including Japan – are working on a framework to shore up Ukraine’s security after a ceasefire or full peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

The NATO flag flies in Berlin, Germany, on July 9.

NATO military leaders are expected to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss Ukraine, following a meeting at the White House Monday between President Donald Trump and several key European leaders — including NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, a senior NATO official told CNN.

The meeting — hosted by NATO’s Military Committee and announced on X by chairman of the NATO’s Military Committee Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone — will be briefed by Supreme Allied Commander Europe US Gen. Alex Grynkewich, the official said.

“As diplomatic efforts to secure peace in Ukraine progress,​ looking forward to his [Grynkewich’s] update on the current security environment,” Dragone said.

Remember: Future security guarantees for Ukraine were among key topics discussed Monday at the White House. French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that the “first and most important” outcome of the talks was the US’ commitment to help develop security plans.

Trump said Monday that while Europe would take the lead on security for Ukraine, the US is “going to help them out also.”

“We’ll be involved,” Trump said.

But on Tuesday, he ruled out sending American troops to Ukraine, despite expressing an openness to the idea Monday.

Wednesday’s meeting will also come less than a week after a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, at the end of which Trump declared no deal struck on a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump today addressed Ukraine’s future and the extent of US involvement in potential peacekeeping, ruling out the deployment of US troops.

Since Trump took office in January, the US has not announced any new aid for Ukraine, marking the longest period with no new assistance from the US since Russia’s full-scale invasion in January 2022, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

The US is still the biggest individual contributor since the start of the war in 2022, but its share has dropped from 52% by the end of last year to 47% by July, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, as Europe scrambles to make up for the loss of American aid.

Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell said, however, in early July that the Department of Defense will send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine.

In contrast, European countries have allocated more in aid during this period than they did in all of 2024.