Trump's travels to Alaska include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is also participating.

1:03 p.m. – Putin praises North Korean soldiers as “heroic” in letter to Kim

In a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin praised the North Korean soldiers deployed against Ukraine as"heroic." As North Korean state media further reported, Putin recalled in the letter how units of the Soviet Red Army and the North Korean armed forces fought together for liberation from Japanese rule. Japan surrendered in World War II on August 15, 1945.

Putin then referred to the decades-long military ties between Russia and North Korea."This was fully confirmed by the heroic participation of North Korean soldiers in the liberation of the Kursk region from the Ukrainian occupiers," Putin emphasized, according to the North Korean news agency KCNA."The Russian people will forever remember their courage and self-sacrifice." He added that both countries would continue to work together to "defend their sovereignty" and "make a significant contribution to the establishment of a just and multipolar world order."

12:35 p.m. – Putin makes a stopover in the Russian Far East before the summit

On his way to the summit with US President Trump in Alaska, Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting the Magadan region in the Far East of his vast empire. The Kremlin chief is also using the opportunity of such long-distance trips to address Russian regions, commented his spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Magadan is located about 6,000 kilometers east of Moscow as the crow flies. This sparsely populated region on the Sea of Okhotsk has historically had a dismal reputation as a site of camps and prisons. Today, it relies on mining and fishing. Putin was scheduled to visit a factory and sports and cultural centers in the regional capital, Magadan, according to the state news agency TASS. After that, it's a good 3,000-kilometer flight to Anchorage, the largest city in the northern US state of Alaska.

10:41 a.m. – Ukraine attacks Russian oil industry again

The Ukrainian army once again attacked Russia's strategically important oil industry with combat drones the night before the US-Russia summit. Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels reported a major fire at the Syzran oil refinery in the Samara region on the Volga River. The governor of the Russian region, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, only confirmed in general terms that the Samara region had been attacked."According to preliminary information, 13 enemy drones were shot down," he wrote on Telegram. Syzran is located about 800 kilometers from Ukraine.

10:35 a.m. – “A lot has already been achieved,” says Lavrov in Alaska – Shirt causes a stir

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Anchorage."We never try to predict the outcome of negotiations," he said upon his arrival. The statement was published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the online service X. He emphasized that Russia's position is clear. Much has already been achieved during the visits of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow. He hopes for a continuation of these"productive" talks.

Lavrov's clothing, in particular, caused a stir on X. The letters"CC" were visible on his white shirt. Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov commented that Lavrov was wearing a shirt with the USSR logo. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is abbreviated in Russian using the Cyrillic letters СССР."This is very reassuring for at least 14 of Russia's neighboring countries," Trofimov wrote ironically. The abbreviation was on the jerseys of Soviet athletes; Lavrov may be wearing a jersey as part of his travel attire.