In today’s issue:

▪ Europe, Ukraine hope for chilly Putin summit

▪ The Hill interview: Newsom defends redistricting fight

▪ Progressives take center stage in mayoral contests

▪ Israel steps up Gaza offensive

Editor’s note: The Hill’s Morning Report is our daily newsletter that dives deep into Washington’s agenda. To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below.

Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

Strategy was the word of the day on Wednesday as President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders huddled on a virtual call to unify their positions ahead of Friday’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Putin will meet on the outskirts of Anchorage in a highly anticipated one-on-one to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine.

The summit marks the first meeting between a U.S. and Russian leader since before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Despite the high stakes, the White House sought to temper expectations for the talks, using terms like “listening session” and “feel-out meeting.”

The White House has steered clear of making any firm commitments about what will come out of Friday’s gathering at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and details have been scarce as officials work to rapidly pull the event together on a week’s notice.

“There’s a very good chance that we’re going to have a second meeting that will be more productive than the first,” Trump said Wednesday. “Because the first is I’m going to find out where we are and what we’re doing.”

FRONT-LINE PUSH: That back-and-forth worries Ukraine’s European allies, especially as Moscow escalates its attacks. The Russian military pierced pockets of Ukraine’s front lines in the eastern Donetsk region this week, pushing forward despite the planned summit.

Trump, along with European leaders and Zelensky, held a joint meeting Wednesday, organized by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, to discuss Trump’s upcoming huddle with Putin. In a joint press conference with Merz after the call, Zelensky said he warned Trump that Putin is “bluffing” about his openness to a peace deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump agreed that Ukraine should be involved in any talks on territory. Merz said any negotiations over territory must use the front lines as a “starting point” but ruled out international recognition of Russia’s occupation. But the German chancellor was noncommittal when asked if Trump had agreed to conditions such as providing security guarantees for Ukraine.

“There is hope for movement,” Merz said.

▪Politico: EU leaders sounded upbeat after their Ukraine call with Trump. They could be in for a rude awakening.

▪BBC: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sees a viable chance for a Ukraine ceasefire as Zelensky arrives in London.

▪The Washington Post: Even before the Alaska summit, Putin is redrawing global order to his liking.

▪The New York Times: Trump has largely held back from harsh criticism of Putin personally, despite recent complaints about Russian intransigence in ending the war in Ukraine.

THE LAST FRONTIER: Alaska will take a rare step into the spotlight with Friday’s summit, an unusual position for the 49th state, which is typically on the periphery of national politics. But the setting will be a key one as Trump and Putin descend on the former Russian colony. Alaskans told The Hill’s Al Weaver that they believe it is fitting that talks between the two nations will come to their shores.

WILD CARD: Two days out from the summit, the president's positions continued to shift. Trump on Wednesday........

© The Hill