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Trump, Putin End Summit With Talk Of Progress But No Deal; Zelenskyy Says He'll Meet With Trump In Washington Monday; Zelenskyy Says He Supports Trilateral Meeting With U.S., Russia; Trump Says He Agreed With Putin That Ukraine Will End With Land Swaps And Security Guarantees From The U.S.; European Official Tells CNN: Conversations With Trump Involved "Article 5-Type " Security Guarantees For Ukraine; Erin Now A Category 2 Hurricane, Still Gaining Strength; AG Bondi Gives Control Of D.C. Police Dept. Back To District; California Dems Release Map Ahead Of Redistricting Fight; New Orleans Mayor Charged With Conspiracy, Fraud; CNN Speaks To People Who Celebrated V-J Day In 1945. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired August 16, 2025 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:40]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN HOST: I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. For those of you watching in the U.S. and around the world, welcome to CNN Newsroom.

5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, and just moments ago, U.S. President Donald Trump posting on social media that he will be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Monday. Mr. Zelenskyy saying that they will be discussing details about ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Mr. Trump also writing in that statement, quote, "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," wrote the President.

Earlier, Trump arrived back in Washington. You see this video from just a few hours ago after he landed, hours after that Alaska summit took place with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the flight, the White House confirms that he spoke with not just NATO leaders but that he also had what was described as a lengthy call with Ukraine's President.

Despite no deal or no decision on a ceasefire in Ukraine, President Trump is giving Friday's meeting with President Putin high marks, a 10 out of 10, he told Fox News. Both men characterizing the summit in Anchorage, Alaska, as positive and talked progress that they said was made.

Well, after the summit, President Trump told Fox News that he agreed with Putin that the war will end with territory swapping and he said that the next move, that's up to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Now it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it's up to President Zelenskyy. I think we are -- and if they'd like, I'll be at that next meeting. They're going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess.

You know, I didn't even -- I didn't ask about it. Not that I want to be there, but I want to make sure it gets done.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SANDOVAL: And there's still so much that we don't know. In fact, that's because President Trump and Putin, they didn't reveal the substance of their meeting at a joint news briefing just after the summit and they also didn't take any questions from reporters, which was unusual.

In a break with tradition, Mr. Putin delivered his remarks first, instead of the hosting U.S. President. The Russian leader said, in his view, the primary cause of the conflict must be eliminated for the fighting to end. Putin with this message to Europe and to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): We expect that Kyiv and European capitals will perceive all this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles, will not make attempts to disrupt the emerging progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's start our coverage now with CNN Anchor and Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, who was in Anchorage on Friday.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It was notable as we were abruptly assembled, I should note, we were kind of waiting around to see if they were going to go from that smaller meeting to the larger meeting. They told the press, take their seats. We saw as the Russian delegation filtered in, the U.S. delegation.

I just want to tell you what it was like inside the room, because it seemed to give indications, even before Trump and Putin got on stage, that no deal had been reached. We saw Steve Witkoff, his special envoy who's met with Putin many times, come into the room, he took his seat. Moments later, he zipped back out and then came back into the room.

Then we saw the Commerce Secretary, the Treasury Secretary, the Secretary of State come in the room, the Press Secretary even. None of them were really smiling or jovial as we typically have seen them at times. And then the President himself entered with President Putin. And at one point, I flashed a thumbs up to Trump to kind of signal to see how did he think the meeting went as Putin was giving his opening remarks. He kind of shrugged his shoulders and looked at me. And so you saw those brief remarks from each of them.

They only spoke for a few minutes, which for people who've covered Putin or Trump, know that is not very characteristic of either of them. And when those remarks, as soon as they got off, it was very clear they had not reached an agreement on anything. They both said that progress had been made. They didn't specify on what.

Trump himself said no deal had been made after Putin had alluded to some kind of an agreement but was quite vague and didn't really offer any details. And the one thing that was clear, as Trump turned to Putin and thanked him, and it seemed to maybe be like he was going to usher him out of the room, and then they both decided to leave and not take any questions from the hundreds of reporters, both U.S. and Russian, who were assembled here, that they had not reached an agreement on what Trump came here to get an agreement on. And that was a ceasefire itself.

[05:05:02]

As he was on the way here, he told reporters he had been told it was unlikely to get a ceasefire. He would personally be unhappy if they didn't reach one. And they certainly didn't. So it raises real questions about what the future of this is going to be.

And Trump had been warning of severe consequences if they had not reached any agreement. That remains to be seen, obviously, if he decides to move forward with that. He didn't seem unhappy. He didn't seem mad. But he certainly didn't have anything to tout from that three-hour nearly meeting that he had with the Russian President.

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Kaitlan Collins there in Alaska.

Let's continue our coverage with CNN's Clare Sebastian joining us from London, monitoring the Russian reaction, as well as Ben Wedeman, who is in the Ukrainian capital in Kyiv.

Claire, we'll go to you in just a moment. But first, Ben, I'm wondering if we could hear from you, now that we have officially heard from not just President Zelenskyy, but also President Trump, about this meeting that's scheduled in a few days. Do you think that that may offer some optimism for Ukrainians who are, as we've heard, really losing hope?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the initial reaction here in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine to this meeting in Alaska was pretty negative. I mean, actually very negative. But certainly what we're seeing is that President Zelenskyy is taking a somewhat more tempered approach.

He put out a statement, his office did this morning, saying that "Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace. It is important that America's strength has an impact on the development of the situation."

He also in that statement expressed a readiness to engage in a trilateral meeting involving himself, President Trump, and President Putin, keeping in mind, of course, that in the past, it was Putin who declined to engage in any sort of trilateral meetings or any sort of meeting that would involve the Ukrainian President.

Now, we also saw in that statement that there was a hour and a half phone call, initially involving President Trump and President Zelenskyy, then involving a variety of European leaders, as well as the Secretary General of NATO and the President of the European Commission.

So, yes, the fact that they're going to be meeting on Monday, hopefully a somewhat more friendly reception for the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office than what we saw earlier this year. And the fact that we're not getting a lot of Trump sort of substantive reaction yet would indicate that perhaps there is a chance that this might lead to some progress toward a ceasefire.

Now, of course, President Trump, on Truth Social, which is not accessible here in Ukraine, did indicate his preference for an agreement, an end to the war, as opposed to a ceasefire, although one would think that perhaps as a agreement to end the war is being reached that maybe a ceasefire might be part of it, because for Ukrainians that certainly is a top demand at this point.

This country is exhausted after three and a half years of war. Tens of thousands of troops have been killed. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people have been displaced. So there is a real desire to see an end to the war.

And there was cautious optimism before the Alaska summit. Now I think we all just have to wait and see, and perhaps progress will be made, but Monday will probably tell. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Indeed it will. At least that's what so many hope.

So, Clare, to you now, we've heard now from President Trump, we've heard from Zelenskyy, in Moscow. It's noon, if I'm not mistaken. How is the summit playing out among Russians?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's interesting, Polo, that President Putin has sort of nonchalantly carried on with his day. He was pictured this morning meeting with the governor of Chukotka, the far eastern region near where the Alaska meeting was held, so sort of carrying on as normal. He hasn't specifically addressed this.

But, look, for Russia, the propaganda value of this is very clear, not only a display of ending Russia's isolation on the global stage, but also, you know, there was an interesting headline I saw in one of the Russian daily newspapers this morning. It was sort of analyzing the body language of the summit, and it said Trump is used to dominating, but Alaska shows the primacy of Putin, essentially arguing that he looked throughout this event like he was the one calling the shots. So, look, this is a war for Russia that has exacted an immense cost in terms of lives, in terms of long-term economic prospects. So I think, you know, this burnishing of Putin's powerful image is extremely well- timed for Russia.

And I think, look, hearing from Trump on Truth Social that he wants a full peace agreement without a ceasefire first, that does also signal that Putin's persuasion may have worked because, of course, Ukraine and Europe have spent the past week and, indeed, much longer than that, arguing for the opposite, that they want a ceasefire first, so that Ukraine doesn't have to negotiate under this intense military pressure that Russia is putting on it and that, of course, continues.

[05:10:20]

So I think, look, the next big bellwether of this will be whether or not Putin agrees to a trilateral meeting. President Trump has floated it. Zelenskyy has now backed it. But Putin has spent months questioning Zelenskyy's legitimacy, not to mention, of course, Ukraine's sovereignty.

And I think it was telling that top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, coming out of the summit in Alaska, even denied that the topic came up. So that will be a key moment to watch going forward. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Clare Sebastian in London, Ben Wedeman in Kyiv, our thanks to you both for your reporting.

You know, in the last hour, I had a chance to speak to Inna Sovsun, she's a member of Ukraine's Parliament. I asked her for her reaction, what she thought of this announcement that had just come out about President Zelenskyy now invited to return back to Washington to meet with President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

INNA SOVSUN, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: He is using any chances that he has, talking to Trump, explaining to him the Ukrainian positions, making coalitions with the European partners. So he is, as all Ukrainians, again, so much willing to make the peace.

However, of course, the situation in itself is very unfavorable to peace as of right now. So we are trying to show willingness for peace. We hope it will work out. But so far, frankly speaking, we have seen no progress with that regard as of yet. And the summit yesterday didn't really point out the road to peace as Ukrainians see that.

SANDOVAL: I'll pose the same question that I asked our colleague a short while ago. Do you think this news now of the -- of Zelenskyy traveling to Washington, do you think it may potentially offer more hope for Ukrainians who certainly need it after that summit?

SOVSUN: Of course, we need hope and we need this war to end. But unfortunately, we're not seeing any progress. Look, one of the pieces of news that we're getting from the summit right now is that potential air ceasefire, the preliminary agreement to start the air ceasefire has been established during that summit.

Well, during this night only, Russia launched one missile attack and 85 drones attacking Ukrainian territory. And that is after the so- called preliminary agreement to set up the ceasefire. Russians are doing nothing to show their goodwill to end this war. They just continue to kill and attack.

By keeping this pretense that they are willing to negotiate and to continue talking, I just want to see the single reason for the Russians to make the deal right now and the single sign from them that they're really willing to make the deal. Because what we're seeing now is they're continuing the attack on the front lines, they're continuing the air attacks every single day, every hour, and they're just making a good lip service, but they're not really showing that they're ready to stop this terrifying war.

SANDOVAL: Well, you remind us that those attacks continue. We're seeing that video from the summit of these two leaders and on top of them a banner that says, Pursuing Peace.

Now, I do want to look back again at that summit. In fact, it was just on Thursday that a Ukrainian journalist told me that one of the worst case scenarios that could potentially come out of it would be for the U.S. to put stronger pressure on Ukraine. Well, here we are 24 hours later, Trump saying on Air Force One that it's up to Zelenskyy now to get it done. Are you concerned that he's essentially shifting the burden to President Zelenskyy instead of Putin, who initiated the hostilities?

SOVSUN: Yes, indeed. That is very terrifying. And the whole mood of yesterday's summit has been juxtapositions against the meeting of Trump and President Zelenskyy in the Oval, right? And the mood and the vibe of that meeting was very different, and it felt like in Oval, when he was meeting President Zelenskyy, he was meeting with the enemy, while here he was meeting with, well, not probably a friend, but a potential partner. And that is, of course, a very scary perspective for all of us.

The red carpet has been an offense to all the Ukrainians, frankly speaking. The red carpet to someone who has killed, raped, terrorized the whole nation is frankly just not something that the leader of the free world should be offering.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SANDOVAL: She also shared her perspective as a Ukrainian mother as well.

I want you to stay with us. We're going to have much more on the summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump coming up here on CNN Newsroom.

Plus, we also have some in-depth analysis, some insights from Professor Natasha Lindstaedt of the University of Essex. We have a lot to get to. Don't go anywhere.

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[05:18:48]

SANDOVAL: U.S. President Donald Trump arriving back at the White House just over two hours ago after that visit to Alaska for that highly watched summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In fact, just moments ago, after returning to Washington, the President posting on social media that he will be meeting with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and this is expected to happen in the Oval Office on Monday. Mr. Zelenskyy also adding a statement of his own, saying that they will be discussing details about ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Back to what Trump said, he also wrote on his social media post, quote, "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," wrote Trump. President Trump reportedly spent most of the flight back to Washington, D.C. on the phone with Zelenskyy, as well as NATO leaders, as well as other European leaders, too.

The President describing his summit with the Russian counterpart as a 10 out of 10, according to an interview on Fox News, even though he did leave without a ceasefire or a peace deal. After the summit, President Trump told Fox News that it's now up to Ukraine's President to reach a deal with Russia, and he said that he agreed with Putin that the war will likely end with swapping territory.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[05:20:09]

SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS: It's kind of universal thinking how this ends. There's going to be some land swaps. There will be more Russian territory than there had been. And what Ukraine wants and needs desperately is our security measures that won't be NATO-related. If you had to look into your crystal ball, is that how it ends?

TRUMP: Well, I think those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on, actually. I think we've agreed on a lot.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's bring in now Natasha Lindstaedt, she's a professor of government at the University of Essex. Always great to have you on, Natasha. Thank you so much for joining us.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: So I'm interested in getting your initial analysis on this news that we received just a few moments ago about the Ukrainian President heading back to Washington, D.C. Before that, though, let's remind viewers what happened, oh, what, about six months ago, the last time that President Zelenskyy sat down with President Trump in the Oval, and then we'll discuss after.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUMP: You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, that's backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Have you said thank you once this entire meeting?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: A lot of times.

VANCE: No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you?

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SANDOVAL: So we play that again, not just obviously because it's just a remarkable scene, even if you watch it now, again all this time later, but just to really look back on where we've been, right? At the time, we heard from so many analysts such as yourself with real concerns that this was likely never going to end in peace, expressing some serious concerns.

Well, after what we saw play out in Alaska today, and now with the idea that he's returning back to Washington, that the Ukrainian President is, what do you expect to play out on Monday?

LINDSTAEDT: So I don't expect that much is going to happen because there are irreconcilable differences here that they're not going to be able to find some kind of solution towards. I know that Trump believes there needs to be a land swap. The problem is that Vladimir Putin wants to control all of Ukraine by either absolutely controlling it or having some sort of puppet president in charge. He wants to hold elections.

And then the best-case scenario is he might accept some sort of territory where he gets all of the Donbas. But the problem is he doesn't control all of the Donbas. The Russians don't have control over all of that area. And President Zelenskyy has made clear he's not going to just give up territory to the Russians just because they are demanding it.

And this has frustrated Trump somewhat, who is hoping that Zelenskyy will agree to this, but he's not willing to. They fought for too long and too hard to just agree to give up that land, especially given that it's been a slog of a war for the Russians. I know that Putin is trying to project an image of strength, but they've lost over 1 million men, including those that are injured.

There are hemorrhaging troops, and they actually have to rely on North Korean troops and other mercenaries. And you've even seen the Ukrainians push in towards Russian territory. So from Zelenskyy's standpoint, Russia is not coming from a position of strength. Putin is trying to project that. And he doesn't want to agree to anything that is on Russian terms. And he's worried that Trump is echoing Russian talking points.

SANDOVAL: As you watch those images play out in Anchorage on Friday, Natasha, what did you make of that, sort of those interactions that were taking place between Trump and Putin, and keeping in mind that it was just days ago that Putin was certainly irritated and angered by Putin's actions. But then days later, he quite literally rolls out the red carpet and offers President Putin an opportunity to step out of diplomatic darkness and onto the world stage.

LINDSTAEDT: Well, Trump has gravitated towards autocrats, and he's always admired Putin. And he appreciates their friendship. And I think Putin has really pushed it at different points in time, where Trump has even said to the press, you know, he speaks very nicely with me on the phone, and then he bombs everybody the next day.

So he's definitely tested Trump's patience, but this has been a reset of their relationship. It really legitimized Putin. He was welcomed with the red carpet, as had been mentioned, on American soil. And nothing really came of it. There wasn't any concession. And thus far, there hasn't been any concession that Putin has given in terms of this conflict.

He even suggested a meeting in Istanbul, and then he didn't even bother to show up. So he's repeatedly strung Trump along, because he's hoping that Trump won't levy sanctions on him.

[05:25:08]

And we've seen Trump has threatened sanctions several times now, back in January and March, again in July, and has never followed through. So for Putin, this was a big win, because he was able to be welcomed by Trump, reset their relationship, and had to give up nothing.

SANDOVAL: Yes, he is a master manipulator, so one would certainly wonder what played out in the beast when they both stepped in that vehicle. I wonder, perhaps, what the lesson is after watching these historic images play out in Alaska on Friday, moving forward, perhaps.

You know, how will that continue to play out in the United States, for example, especially politically, when you -- when we all saw President Trump, as we mentioned, rolling out the red carpet and receiving Putin in Alaska?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, Trump's approval ratings aren't very good at the moment. They're around 40 percent. I think that's more driven by economic concerns, but certainly he's rattled different segments of the American public about the way that he treats Putin, his admiration for Putin, and that he seems to not have that same admiration for Zelenskyy, that their relationship has definitely had a lot more ups and downs than his relationship with Putin has had.

So Trump has a couple things in mind with his foreign policy. He wants to project this image of strength, but he tends to cower to Putin every chance he gets. And he also wants a Nobel Peace Prize, but he wants to do it by strong-arming Zelenskyy and Ukraine into capitulating way more land and territory than they would want to, which would also put Europe at risk and which would put the U.S. more at risk.

And by being not on the same page always, as Europe, this also makes the U.S. more insecure. So these are all images that I don't think play well to the vast majority of the American public who are really concerned about legitimizing Putin in such a visual way.

SANDOVAL: Professor Natasha Lindstaedt, as always, thank you so much for your insight.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Of course.

Well, Russian politicians and media, they are touting the summit as a potential game-changer for Moscow. Still ahead, why this moment on the red carpet that we just discussed, why it is getting a lot of attraction -- a lot of traction, I should say, in Russia, where it's just past noon.

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[05:30:53]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Let's take a look now at some of today's top stories.

Washington, D.C.'s police chief will keep control over departments, this after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration overstepped when it said that the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency would serve as an emergency police commissioner. The city is still required to answer to Trump officials during the national crime emergency.

And California Democrats states are moving forward with their redistricting plan as other states including Texas are already planning on doing the same. On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom released the proposed map which would potentially flip five Republican seats to the Democrats. California's proposal is in response to Republican states specifically Texas that are now planning to carve up Democratic seats ahead of next year's midterms.

And U.S. President Donald Trump posting on social media a short while ago that he will be meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday. The President also writing quote, "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," wrote Trump.

We do have breaking news on that story right now. I want to go back to Kyiv where CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is standing by with some breaking news. Nick, what are you hearing?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and details increasingly emerging about the phone calls with European leaders that have followed after that meeting in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Now, two separate things here. One European official is adding a little bit more detail as to the talk of security guarantees that we've been hearing.

President Trump has loosely mentioned those. Finnish President Alexander Stubb has just put a social media post out where he talks about the importance of security guarantees for Ukraine. Remember, this is about the idea that if there is a comprehensive peace deal that forces Ukraine to make uncomfortable successions, the payoff for Ukraine is that down the line. They would find themselves with proper security guarantees and backing in the event of a peace deal sets in so that they'd have support if as many here fear could happen Russia tries to advance its lines again.

Now, one European official I spoke to referred to how the guarantees under discussion were Article 5-type guarantees and that the United States was providing backing to that kind of idea. Now, Article 5 is the clause in the NATO Charter, which essentially says an attack on one member is an attack on all of them.

Now, I should stress, this proposal as I understand it from the European official does not involve NATO at all or Ukraine joining now. So that's something Trump has been categorically against. But the use of the Article 5 phrase suggests that potentially under discussion here is some kind of arrangement where if Ukraine was attacked, European powers possibly with U.S. backing as well, that's huge would consider it an attack on them too.

Now, just a reminder as well that in the past months as peace deals have begun to move forward different permutations, we've heard talk of a European reassurance force quite advanced stages of planning with the French and the English or the British specifically thinking about putting troops in the field to potentially assist Ukraine. But they always wanted a U.S. backstop for that kind of force.

But we haven't heard from the White House yet. President Trump's tweet did not mention Article 5-type guarantees, but I think that's the kind of strong language being used by the European official. I'm speaking to suggest that what they have managed to get out of these calls is further U.S. commitments to the idea of them being around if security guarantees potentially become part of a deal that Ukraine is asked to accept.

President Trump has kind of said, look, in a Truth Social post, we're not going to get an immediate ceasefire, a reminder Russian President Vladimir Putin has always been against that. He's always said you need to have monitors, need to have technical preparation, you can't do this sort of thing overnight.

[05:35:09]

And instead saying a quick route to a longer-term ceasefire deal is -- or a peace deal is the best way forwards here. Now that is basically read it code for way more time for Vladimir Putin on the front lines.

A second European official I've spoken to you said that in the conversation in Alaska, Vladimir Putin did not drop his maximalist-ish demand of full control of the Donbas region. Now, that is something that emerged from his meeting with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff over 10 days ago now in Moscow that caused significant alarm amongst -- on confusion frankly amongst European allies.

They don't -- didn't feel that Witkoff had frankly got the best grasp of the proposal. They didn't know whether or not if, for example, Ukraine gave up Donbas, that would mean Russia would say, no, we no longer want the rest Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which is about two-thirds roughly occupies.

But still a feeling that the Alaska meeting Putin presented still pretty maximalist, unrealistic demands. Zelenskyy's repeatedly said he's not going to be giving up the nets practically. It's a completely crazy idea to us, tens of thousands of civilians to suddenly uproot their lives and move out of an area so Russia can occupy it.

But increasingly a sense now as we await likely a statement from European leaders quite soon, that Putin has tried perhaps in Alaska to sound like he's willing to move forwards. But still being quite maximalist in his demands, incredibly maximalist in his rhetoric about the root causes, about needing to have peace in Ukraine, kind of imposed that's essentially code for a kind of Ukrainian surrender or military defeat.

And so, I think what we're seeing here is the slight glimmers of Putin suggesting to Trump that there might be something more worth talking about. Trump now in a very difficult sales position to Zelenskyy. He made it clear last night the decision rests with Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy will be in Washington on Monday to talk this through at length with President Trump after a lengthy phone call here.

The glimmer possibly of hope here, the kind of sale element here that might make Zelenskyy feel more interested is a concept of security guarantees. It won't be NATO membership, but it might be something that has enough of a sense of robust collective defense that Ukraine considers to be some kind of incentive.

A reminder though many Ukrainians here remember when they gave up their nuclear weapons of the Budapest memorandum in the mid-90s. They were told that they would have security guarantees from the U.S., Russia, and other European nations and that just didn't happen. And so I think there'll be a bit of a trust deficit when it comes to the idea of trust us, will be by your side if things go wrong again.

But still while things are certainly not moving with the speed and pace that Trump wanted or that Ukraine wants or the European allies want and there is no immediate ceasefire, remember that was a key Trump ask ahead of this meeting. He said there would be very severe consequences if he didn't feel he was moving towards peace.

We certainly have momentum or we have movement in some direction. But ultimately I think it's the direction Putin wants, which is he just gets more time now to continue moving forwards on the front lines.

SANDOVAL: Some remarkable reporting there that's finally giving us some insight and perhaps some answers to so many questions that we've had since these two leaders met.

Nick Paton Walsh, our thanks to you for this breaking news out of Kyiv. We're certainly going to continue to follow that.

Russian media for its part, they've really had a field day with the images of Mr. Putin receiving that red carpet treatment as he arrived in Alaska. In fact, he'd been a pariah in the West since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. And he's also facing an arrest warrant from the International Court of Justice over suspected war crimes, which Russia has continued to reject.

From Moscow, CNN's Fred Pleitgen gives us a look at how Putin's day is playing out back home.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you can imagine the Russian state media pretty happy with the outcome so far. One of the things that's getting played again and again and again as President Trump saying that there could be a follow-up summit and President Putin and saying next time in Moscow. That certainly is something that the Russian press is sort of zeroing in on.

Generally saying that they believe that the meeting went very well for Vladimir Putin obviously outlining the fact that Vladimir Putin does not appear to have made substantial concessions to the U.S. President certainly not towards any sort of ceasefire that might be imminent. The fact that the Russian President spoke about the root causes of a conflict that those need to be addressed Russia security concerns as well. That's the exact same rhetoric that we've actually been hearing from Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the full-on invasion of Ukraine.

And looking at how this evening unfolded, certainly, if you see some of the Russian officials that we've sort of been monitoring, that have been talking about this like, for instance, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, she said, look, people have been saying for the last three years that Russia's completely isolated and now they're seeing President Trump roll out the red carpet for the Russian President on U.S. territory. Then saying that the U.S. media was going crazy about all this.

[05:40:21]

So certainly the Russians right now treating this as a positive outcome for Vladimir Putin. t was quite interesting to hear because the Russian media actually did speak to some Russian officials that then came out of those meetings and the Russian ambassador to the United States called -- talked about a positive atmosphere. The Russian Defense Minister said that he was very upbeat after hearing about the meeting.

So generally, it seems as though in the Russian delegation, the mood is quite positive. But here as well, no one really knows what the agreements are that allegedly were put in place by these two leaders So that was a green pie by these two leaders. But the mood definitely on the ground here in Russia, in Russian media, and it seems also in the Russian delegation seems to be a very positive one.

SANDOVAL: Well, meanwhile, new videos showing the sheer destruction in Gaza that was left behind by Israel's ongoing offensive. It's already -- it was actually taken on board a plane that was dropping aid into the enclave.

Several countries have already delivered airdrops since Israel loosened restrictions last month. But aid groups say that it is still not enough. You can see that widespread devastation.

Palestinians, they are still struggling to survive without enough food. Gaza's Health Ministry said on Thursday that four more people have died of starvation and malnutrition.

Well, the Trump administration is now dialing back its efforts to control the police department in Washington, D.C. It's not letting go though. The latest on Donald Trump's crime emergency in the nation's capital coming up. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

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[05:45:06]

SANDOVAL: Well, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season is now a category 2 storm and it's expected to grow even stronger this weekend. Erin, it's -- as it's called, now has sustained winds of 120 miles per hour, which is about 195 kilometers per hour.

The outer bands that you see there already beginning to impact the northern Leeward Islands. Heavy rainfall also expected in the Virgin Islands as well as Puerto Rico as we see that the forecasted trail. Forecasters also predicting that this storm could reach category 4 status by Sunday.

And this is all coming as the Midwest is still reeling from multiple days of heavy rain. Flash flooding is expected especially in the U.S. state of Wisconsin as storm systems there continue to make their way through the region.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has issued a new order giving back control of Washington, D.C.'s Police Department to its chief. A federal judge ruling that the administration does not have the authority to put the head of the D.A. in place as a so-called emergency police commissioner as it's essentially tried to do earlier in the week.

Here's Brian Todd with more.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest tense chapter in this political standoff between the Trump administration and the D.C. government over President Trump's takeover of the D.C. police started on Thursday when Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an order to the D.C. government to accept DEA Administrator Terry Cole as the district's, quote, "emergency police commissioner", basically giving him full control over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.

Well, the D.C. government sued to block that order. And on Friday evening, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued instructions for the Trump administration to rewrite its directive. The Trump administration complied. Now D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb claimed victory because it means D.C.'s police chief will not be replaced.

But even with that rewriting, the Trump administration will still be able to make demands of the D.C. police. The DEA Administrator Terry Cole would have to request any police action through Mayor Muriel Bowser. But under law, Bowser would not be allowed to refuse any such requests.

So in effect, this does not change the big picture of Pam Bondi's order or of President Trump's emergency declaration earlier this week. It just makes the entire process of issuing police orders a little bit more cumbersome. Meanwhile, local police, federal agents and the D.C. National Guard continued their stepped-up patrols of the D.C. streets on Friday and later in the week. And local police and federal agents have moved more aggressively to break down homeless encampments in the city.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

SANDOVAL: And Democrats in California now moving forward with their redistricting plan as other states including Texas consider doing the same. On Friday, California Governor Gavin Newsom released the proposed map which could potentially flip five Republican states Democratic. The California legislature, they now have to approve these maps before they can be put on a ballot come November.

Newsom says California's action, it is a direct response to Republicans in Texas who are attempting to basically carve up five Democratic seats.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GAVIN NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: We can't stand back and watch this Democracy disappear district by district all across this country, not just in Texas but in Missouri where J.D. Vance went just a week ago in Indiana, in places like Ohio, in places like Florida. We need to stand up not just California. Other blue states need to stand up. We need to be firm in (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOCLIP)

SANDOVAL: Texas Republicans are still proceeding with their plan to redraw congressional lines ahead of next year's midterm elections. More than 50 Democratic lawmakers fled Texas in an effort to block the redistricting plan by denying the Republicans their quorum.

Well, the mayor of New Orleans has been indicted on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction. Louisiana prosecutors accusing LaToya Cantrell of a years-long scheme to hide a personal relationship that she allegedly had with her bodyguard. They say that he was paid as if he were working while the two met alone, even took lavish vacations.

Well, he's pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. Cantrell says that she's being unfairly targeted as a black woman. Investigators uncovered more than 15,000 encrypted text messages between the two that led to this federal grand jury indictment. And we're going to be back with much, much more. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

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[05:53:34]

SANDOVAL: More breaking news that we're following at this hour after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska as we brought you just a few moments ago, our colleague Nick Paton Walsh describing really the possibility of security guarantees according to multiple sources for Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement.

The European Union just releasing a statement along those lines just a few moments ago. And part of that statement reading in part, "We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We welcome President Trump's statements that the U.S. is prepared to give security guarantees. The coalition of the willing is ready to play an active role. No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's Armed Forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to E.U. and NATO."

We should stay tuned though for continuing developments as they continue to come in just now hours since that's summit concluded in Alaska. And, you know, with the world's attention focused on Alaska, it was pretty easy to overlook the anniversary of the end of another war.

Friday marks the 80-year anniversary, at least 80 years, since the end of the World War II in the Pacific known as V-J Day. On August 15th, 1945, celebrations erupted across the U.S., Canada, and Britain after Japan's unconditional surrender.

CNN Salma Abdelaziz spoke to one man who lived through the war and the end of it.

[05:55:08]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are on board Queen Mary 2. So this ship is the namesake of the RMS Queen Mary which in August of 1945 sounded the whistle marking the end of the conflict. The day now known of course as V-J Day. And aboard this ship, there are commemorations taking place including those with veterans.

And we were able to speak to one veteran, his name is Stanley. He was 20 years old in 1945. He is now 100 and this is the lesson he wants us to take away.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

STANLEY RICKEARD, WWII VETERAN, BRITISH ROYAL NAVY: There's nothing good about wartime. There never has been anything good about wartime. We did our duty in the war, and I think that if the oldies were to tell the youngsters, if the youngsters have time to listen, it would be to the benefit of mankind. (END VIDEOCLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, Southampton, this English port city where I'm standing played a pivotal role during World War II. It is during the two weeks in and around D-Day. But 3.5 million military personnel passed through here. Southampton also played a role in bringing people home, some 22,000 prisoners of war were brought to Southampton after the conflict ended.

Now, in a separate part of the country, the king and queen were also commemorating the 80th anniversary of V-J Day. Very somber occasion. And what we heard time and time again from officials and from those impacted is that somber reminder of the cost of war and the lessons it brought 80 years on.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, Southampton.

SANDOVAL: And from the entire team in Atlanta and myself, thank you so much for watching the last hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval on New York.

For audience in North America, CNN This Morning is next for the rest of the world. It's African Voices, My Drive.

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