Trump-Putin talks send Russian media wild but Kyiv is downbeat

Russian media outlets were in high spirits on Friday as Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin headed to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for an Alaskan summit widely presented as a win for Moscow, its economy and global standing.

Articles and commentary were splashed across Russian state news sites on Friday reveling in the global attention that Putin’s historic trip to the U.S. was garnering, with positive takes on what the high-stakes talks — centered on ending the war in Ukraine — could mean for Russia, which has been isolated and economically punished by the West since invading Ukraine in 2022.

“Russia-U.S. summit will be an attempt to reset relations,” state news outlet TASS headlined, with accompanying stories echoing positive sentiment around the one-to-one talks: “The whole world is waiting for the meeting between Putin and Trump” and “Russia and the U.S. have potential to renew partnership in the Arctic,” commentators stated, according to Google translations.

The mood in Ukraine was positively dour, meanwhile, with news outlets reflecting fears that Kyiv could be sold out during the talks with Putin, a veteran statesman who is seen as likely to pursue as many concessions as he can from Trump in return for a ceasefire.

State news outlet RIA Novosti reveled in the absence of Ukrainian and European officials from what it described as “historic” talks.

Ria Novosti’s columnist Kirill Strelnikov said recent Russian territorial gains in Ukraine showed the country’s forces were already “negotiating” long before Friday’s talks, noting “the main negotiator, who silently and tiredly laid out the killer arguments on the table, was the Russian army.”

Russia’s media landscape is heavily controlled by the state, with little pushback against the Kremlin’s messaging and policies. Throughout the war, state-run media have aggrandized Russian wins on the battlefield, while downplaying or ignoring news to the contrary. Commentary seen to denigrate or damage Russia’s war effort can land authors in jail.

In Ukraine, news outlets are decrying what they — and the Kyiv leadership — see as the rehabilitation of Putin. “From ‘war criminal’ to U.S. guest — Trump invites Putin out of isolation,” the front page of the Kyiv Independent’s online news site.

The International Criminal Court in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes, namely, the “unlawful deportation” of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. The Kremlin denies any wrongdoing. The U.S.

The U.S. is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC and therefore has no obligation to arrest Putin when he steps on American soil.

Another Kyiv Independent story reflected low morale among Ukrainian troops, who fear Trump could capitulate to Putin by offering up Russian-occupied territory as part of a coveted ceasefire deal, after previously boasting he could end the war in Ukraine shortly into his second mandate.

Securing this peace has proved far harder than Trump expected, however. He has so far refused to pull the trigger on further sanctions on Moscow, despite threatening to do so if the Kremlin did not agree to a ceasefire.

The lede story on the Kyiv Post, headlined “Trump Holds ‘Enormous Leverage’ Over Putin – Will He Use It?” reflected concerns that, while Trump holds some cards that could persuade Russia to enter a peace deal, he, ultimately, won’t be prepared to act.

Similarly to Russian counterparts, Ukrainian media outlets have championed the country’s armed forces and war efforts. There is nonetheless greater media freedom in Ukraine — a prerequisite for Kyiv’s aspirations to EU membership.

The Trump-Putin talks are expected to kick off at 3.30 p.m. ET, with the presidents set to later hold a joint press conference to summarize their discussions.

That presser will be one of the most closely watched events of this year, revealing the presidents’ takes on the talks and what pledges (or lack thereof) might have been made in order to reach a ceasefire.

“The president wants to exhaust all options to try to bring this war to a peaceful resolution,” the White House said on the eve of the Alaska summit.

But Ukraine and its European allies fear those “options” might be bad for Kyiv’s territorial integrity, with Trump already mooting the idea of land “swapping” as part of a ceasefire, and wider European security.