Anchorage: Trump took off from Andrews Air Force Base and is now in Alaska, where the summit with Putin is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. local time at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The historic meeting, expected to last at least six to seven hours, is drawing intense global scrutiny amid ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine and strategic competition with China.

While the focus is officially on resolving the over three-year war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—who was not invited to today’s meeting, warned that Russian assaults have continued even as the two leaders head into talks. He urged for new sanctions against Russia if it does not agree to an “immediate ceasefire.”

President Trump has said he would like to see a second summit soon in Alaska, this time including Zelenskyy. For now, the White House has lowered expectations for any major breakthrough but insists that Trump enters the talks from a position of strength, as Putin steps onto U.S. soil for the first time in years.

Behind the scenes, rare earth metals have emerged as a parallel point of interest. Russian investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev revealed that talks had begun with U.S. companies about cooperating on rare earth projects in Russia, resources that are vital for defence systems, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics.

With China maintaining a near-monopoly over global critical mineral supplies, Washington has been urgently diversifying its sourcing, recently engaging in minerals-for-security deals with both Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Russia, estimated by its own Natural Resources Ministry to hold over 28 million tonnes of rare earth metals, may be next on the list.

Putin marked the occasion by laying flowers at a World War II U.S.-Soviet cooperation memorial in Magadan, hours before arriving in Alaska. Kremlin officials have emphasized that today’s discussions are as much about restoring diplomatic relations with the U.S. as they are about conflict resolution or economics.