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Good morning!

We left you on Friday with news that President Trump was on his way to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since returning to the White House. Below, we unpack what we’ve learnt about that meeting, and what’s happened since.

But things in global politics move fast - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with Trump at the White House today for a day that could be extremely consequential in the context of Ukraine’s future.

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Some headlines from this morning:

• Hundreds of thousands of protestors have gathered across Israel to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages. The strike was led by hostages’ families, and saw major roads shut down across the country. It comes as the Israeli Government expands its military operations in an attempt to seize complete control of Gaza. The World Health Organization has said the “worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip”. Israeli forces have killed more than 1,700 Palestinians trying to access food supplies since the end of May. The protest was one of the largest the country has seen since 7 October 2023. At least 38 people were arrested. Of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza, 20 are believed to still be alive.

• Hurricane Erin will likely not make landfall in the U.S. but is expected to intensify further after being downgraded from a rare Category 5 to a Category 3. On Saturday night, the storm was generating winds of over 160mph as it made its way towards the Bahamian Archipelago in the Caribbean. However, Erin lost power as it began to travel towards the North, away from the Caribbean and the U.S. Despite not making landfall, the hurricane will cause massive swells and strong rip currents all across the East Coast. Hurricane Erin is the first hurricane of the U.S’ 2025 hurricane season, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted will be “above normal”. 

• Spain has deployed its army to fight over 20 major wildfires spreading across the country as temperatures hit over 113 degrees over the weekend. The fires have so far claimed three lives and over 115,000 hectares of land, as local citizens turn to throwing buckets of water at the blazes in an attempt to extinguish them. The total number of troops deployed across Spain hit 1,900 over the weekend, with authorities describing the conditions as “very adverse.” Spain’s neighbor, Portugal, also fought fires over the weekend, with one blaze still going after eight days.

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Residents of Washington, D.C., protested the Trump administration’s federal takeover on Saturday, marching from Dupont Circle to the White House.

Meanwhile, local government officials won a court challenge over the appointment of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) boss to oversee the Washington police, and three Republican states promised to send some of their National Guard to D.C to support Trump’s crackdown.

Background

President Trump declared Washington, D.C. was in a “crime emergency” last Monday, enabling the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to bolster local law enforcement efforts.

According to Axios, more than 300 people have been arrested, 135 undocumented immigrants have been detained, and 44 homeless encampments have been cleared so far in the crackdown.

D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser called the takeover "an authoritarian push" over the weekend.

According to figures published by the Washington DC's Metropolitan Police (MPDC), crime rates have decreased to a 30-year low in the nation's capital after they peaked in 2023.

Protests

Saturday’s march was organised by advocacy group Refuse Fascism. Organizers from the group led the protests, for which hundreds of D.C. residents turned out.

Protesters interviewed by the New York Times and NPR rejected the President’s basis for troop deployment, claiming D.C. was safe and crime was low.

Many carried signs and baguettes as an ode to ‘Sandwich Guy’, a former Department of Justice employee who threw a sandwich at federal officers and has since become a symbol for those protesting.

Court challenge

On Saturday, Trump administration officials rescinded an order that replaced the head of the D.C. local police force with Terry Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The move came after D.C Attorney General Brian Schwalb launched a legal challenge to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s order that granted federal control over local law enforcement.

The order originally appointed Cole "emergency police commissioner," granting him the powers and duties of the local Police Chief Pamela Smith.

More to come

The 800-strong National Guard force will be bolstered by 300-400 troops from West Virginia, 200 troops from South Carolina, and 150 military police from Ohio.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said he authorized the deployment at the Pentagon’s request. The reinforcements are expected to arrive in the coming days.

I’ve got 2 minutes

President Donald Trump will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the White House, following his talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Putin’s meeting did not result in the two agreeing to the terms of a peace deal in the region. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said he won’t agree to give up any Ukrainian territory to end the war.

War in Ukraine

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. While neither side publishes official death tolls, the United Nations (UN) estimates at least 13,800 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the war broke out.

More than 5.6 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia first invaded, according to UN data.

Russia controls roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, and neither side has made major advances in 2025.

Ceasefire

Multiple efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have failed.

Trump’s election platform in 2024 included securing peace, insisting he would be able to broker a peace deal “within 24 hours”.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants to return to its borders pre-2014, when Russia illegally invaded the Crimean peninsula.

Putin meeting

Over the weekend, Trump met with Putin for three hours in Alaska (formerly a Russian territory).

The meeting did not result in a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Both leaders described the talks as “constructive”.

After the meeting, Trump told reporters: “We didn’t get there but we have a very good chance of getting there”.

It was the pair’s first meeting since Trump returned to the White House.

Zelenskyy meeting

Zelenskyy confirmed he would meet Trump at the White House after the Alaska summit.

In a post to X, Zelensky said: “I am confident that we will defend Ukraine, effectively guarantee security, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump”.

“I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace”.

Trump hosted Zelenskyy earlier this year in his office at the White House, where he and Vice President JD Vance verbally confronted the Ukrainian leader.

During the tense exchange, Trump accused Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War Three”.

European leaders are set to attend the second meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, including the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the EU. NATO chief Mark Rutte is also set to attend the talks.

NATO

Ahead of the meeting, Trump posted on social media: “NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE”.

NATO is a military alliance of 32 European and North American countries. If one member is attacked, the others must help them fight back.

Ukraine was promised in 2008 that it would eventually be given the opportunity to join. Putin cited the “expansion” of NATO as a justification for invading Ukraine.

Finland, which also borders Russia, joined in 2023. Zelenskyy has said he wants the U.S. to agree to send troops to protect Ukraine from future attacks.

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