US President Donald Trump has suddenly shifted his campaign to halt the Ukraine war to securing a full peace agreement after a summit with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin failed to secure a ceasefire.

Three hours of talks between the White House and Kremlin leaders at an Alaska air base produced no breakthrough but Mr Trump and European leaders said they wanted a new summit that includes Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Zelensky will now go to Washington on Monday while European leaders said they were ready to intensify sanctions against Russia after Mr Trump briefed them on the summit.

Mr Trump remained upbeat, calling the summit “a great and very successful day in Alaska!” in a Truth Social post on Saturday.

The US president said that European leaders had backed his plan for a new summit.

“It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up,” he added.

Zelensky in Washington

He confirmed Monday’s meeting with Mr Zelensky and said he hoped a Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit would follow. “Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved,” Mr Trump commented.

Before the summit, Mr Trump had warned of “severe consequences” if Russia did not accept a ceasefire.

When asked about this by Fox News after the talks, Mr Trump said that “because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that now”.

Mr Putin has repeatedly said only a full peace deal could halt the war he ordered in February 2022, which has left tens of thousands dead and widespread destruction in Ukraine.

Mr Putin again spoke of addressing the “root causes” of the conflict at the summit and some analysts said Mr Trump may have conceded ground.

“Faced with what appears to be Putin’s stonewalling, lectures on history, or other dodges, Mr Trump backed away again,” said Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland and now a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank.

Trump backing Putin’s Ukraine land plan: source, reports

Mr Trump reportedly backs a Russian proposal for Moscow to take full control of two Ukrainian regions and freeze the front line in two others which Moscow only partially controls, a source told AFP.

The source with knowledge of the matter said Mr Putin “de facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas”, an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

“Trump is inclined to support it,” the source said.

Mr Trump on Saturday spoke to Mr Zelensky and European leaders about his discussion with Mr Putin the previous day.

“The Ukrainian president refused to leave Donbas,” the source said.

Mr Zelensky has rejected any territorial concessions, saying he is bound by Ukraine’s constitution. But he has not ruled out discussing the issue at a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin.

The New York Times also cited two senior European officials saying Mr Trump supported Mr Putin’s plan “to end the war in Ukraine by ceding unconquered territory to the Russian invaders, rather than try for a ceasefire”.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Putin had told Mr Trump that “he could freeze the rest of the frontline if his core demands were met” and the message had been relayed directly by Mr Trump in his call on Saturday.

AFP’s source said US officials had said that if Russia’s demands were met then Mr “Putin would not continue the offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions so there would be a kind of freeze there.

“But de facto it all will depend on Putin’s word of honour,” the source said.

Several months into its invasion of Ukraine, Russia in September 2022 claimed to have annexed all four Ukrainian regions even though its troops still do not fully control any of them.

Russian forces now occupy almost all of the Lugansk region and most of the Donetsk region, including their regional capitals.

That is not the case for Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, where the main hubs are still under Ukrainian control.

Russia previously annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

The Europeans, who had been wary of the Alaska meeting, held their own talks on Saturday and afterwards expressed support for a new summit.

Their statement did not mention a ceasefire, just the need for more action to force Russia into “a just and lasting peace”.

“As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, we stand ready to uphold the pressure on Russia. We will continue to strengthen sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia’s war economy until there is a just and lasting peace,” they said.

The war went on despite the summit. Ukraine announced Saturday that Russia launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night. Russia said it had taken two more villages in Ukraine.

Mr Trump and Mr Putin emerged from their talks to offer warm words at a 12-minute press briefing but took no questions.

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made progress. There’s no deal until there’s a deal,” Trump said.

He called the meeting “extremely productive” with “many points” agreed, but did not offer specifics.

‘Next time in Moscow’

Mr Putin also spoke in general terms. “We hope that the understanding we have reached will … pave the way for peace in Ukraine.”

Mr Putin warned Ukraine and European countries to “not create any obstacles” and not “make attempts to disrupt this emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigues”.

As Mr Trump mused about a second meeting, Mr Putin smiled and said in English: “Next time in Moscow”.

Putin warns Western allies

Mr Trump, whose tone with Mr Zelensky has changed since he berated the Ukrainian leader at the White House in February, told Fox that “Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done”.

Mr Zelensky, who has rejected Russian demands that Ukraine give up territory, was not invited to Friday’s talks. But he said Saturday that he supported the American efforts.

“It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,” he said.

Russia in recent days has made battlefield gains that could strengthen Mr Putin’s hand in any negotiations.

Although Ukraine announced as Mr Putin was flying in that it had retaken several villages, Russia’s army on Saturday claimed the capture of Kolodyazi in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and Vorone in the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.