WWW #1
The week of August 27th
Trump meets with Putin
On August 15th, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin landed at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. Trump initiated the summit to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine War, which has been going on since February 2014. Trump rolled out a red carpet for the man who has an official warrant out by the ICC, all to the sound of fighter jets soaring above. The meeting lasted approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is quite short for discussing an ongoing war. Questions were continuously shouted at Putin during the summit, with one being, “Will you commit to not killing any more civilians?”. The Russian President didn’t respond to any of them, sat with a confused look, and said that he couldn’t hear the journalist’s questions.
After the meeting concluded, both Trump and Putin gave quick remarks. During In Putin’s statement, he only mentioned the conflict in Ukraine (the entire purpose of the summit) for several minutes. Trump’s statement was no better, as he didn’t mention Ukraine except for one line where he only references the conflict. After the brief and confusing remarks, both leaders left without taking any questions.
After the summit, it was clear to many that not much progress had been made in resolving the war. In fact, Trump is now in agreement with Putin that a ceasefire in Ukraine is not a good idea. The largest takeaway from this summit is that it opened a door for more Russian-US talks, most likely with Ukraine absent. Putin told Trump, “Next time in Moscow.” Trump then acknowledged that it might be a bad idea, and that he could “get a little heat on that one”, but that it was possible that a meeting in Moscow could happen.
Trump meets with Zelenskyy, Putin missing
Three days after the Alaska Summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington, D.C. Along with him were the leaders of countries and organizations such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the EU. Before the world leaders’ meeting, however, there was the first conference between Zelenskyy, Trump, and the press.
The two seemed to be pretty cordial even after previously telling Fox News that Zelenskyy should arrange the ceasefire (although he wasn’t included in the Alaska summit). Zelenskyy wore a black suit because, during his last visit to Washington, a reporter made a big deal of his wearing a more business casual outfit, opposed to a suit. He also launched what BBC News called a “charm offensive”, due to his last meeting not ending well. In February, Vice President J.D. Vance told him that he should be more appreciative of Trump. It was certain that Zelenskyy wanted to make up for his past mistakes (which he didn’t even make in the first place).
World leaders assemble, Putin missing once again
After the one-on-one meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy moved to a meeting with other heads of state and the NATO Secretary General. Unlike his past Alaska summit, this meeting apparently made real progress. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Today’s meeting was good and constructive, and there was a real sense of unity between the European leaders that were there and President Trump and President Zelensky.” The parties involved created an agreement between 30 nations, called the ‘Coalition of the Willing’. This coalition would work together to create security guarantees for Ukraine with US support. Midway through the meeting, however, Trump left to call Vladimir Putin. He talked about the possibility of a Zelenskyy-Putin bilateral meeting, a request which the Kremlin has stayed unnervingly silent on.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron both agreed that moving forward would require a ceasefire. Now, that is something that Trump and Putin both don’t want. Instead, Trump and Putin are floating the idea of Ukraine ceding land to Russia in exchange for a ceasefire. Even though that idea would constitute a meeting at least, Russia still doesn’t want to face him. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the press that there was no plan for a Putin-Zelensky meeting. Overall, these back-and-forth tactics between the US, Russia, and Ukraine provide a setting where nobody can make any real progress. Progress was made in mediating the conflict only with the intervention of European leaders and NATO.
Trump meets with Lee Jae Myung
The meeting with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung got slightly overshadowed by the previous summit, but it was just as informative. Before the meeting even occurred, Trump threatened not to do business with South Korea on a social media post. He claimed that a “Purge or Revolution” was happening in South Korea. Despite the attacks before the meeting, Lee was very friendly and entertaining for the President. It showed a drastic change from Trump’s previous meetings with leaders, as they realized that any appeasement of the President is enough to get more advantageous terms.
During the meeting, Lee attempted to get US involvement in constructing peace in Korea. Lee called Trump a peacemaker and requested that Trump mediate peace and create deals with North Korea. He also joked about a Trump Towers in North Korea and playing golf with Kim Jong Un. Overall, the atmosphere was very cordial and cheerful, which Lee perfectly used to get good deals with Trump. Even still, though, Trump is not giving in on some fronts. The 15% tariff on South Korea remains unchanged, for example.
In more personal news to the 79-year-old President Trump, there seemed to be an issue with his ankles. During his meeting with Lee, his leg was visible poking out of his shoe, seeming like his cankles were inflamed or larger than normal. The White House Twitter (X) page posted a photo with Trump and Lee standing, where both of their ankles are cut off, a very suspicious cropping. Also, he decided that concealer was not for him and wore the bruise on his right hand with pride. The big blue and purple discoloration was in full view of the cameras when his hand was not patting Lee on the back or shaking his hand.
20 dead in Gaza hospital strike, Netanyahu claims “tragic mishap”
On August 25th, there was an airstrike at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, a city in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli-launched double strike, to be exact, hit the hospital. The first strike killed at least one, and the second strike killed more as bystanders, journalists, and rescuers convened on the scene to help others. 5 journalists from international media such as the AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and the Middle East Eye were killed during what the Israeli Prime Minister called a “tragic mishap.”
The Israeli military is investigating the strike, and international organizations have come out to condemn the strike. Leaders of the UK, France, and Germany have spoken out against the attacks, calling them “completely indefensible” and “intolerable”.
Many say that the strike wasn’t an accident, as Israel waited 10 minutes between strikes. This could bring many rescuers and civilians to the site, potentially increasing the number of casualties. Later, the IDF published their ‘initial findings’, claiming that 6 of the 20 who were killed were terrorists. The IDF report also claimed that one of the civilians killed took part in the October 7th attacks. True or not, 14-20 civilians were killed, 5 of whom were journalists. It is yet another example of Israel killing journalists during this conflict, bringing the number to roughly 280.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia gone again?
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man illegally deported to a Salvadoran mega-prison in March of 2025, has been released. Garcia awaited trial in a Tennessee prison after the US brought him back in June, facing human smuggling charges. Before his release, prosecutors called Garcia a dangerous criminal who deserved to wait in prison until his trial. The judges ruled in Garcia’s favor, however. In August, “he successfully convinced two federal judges to order his release while he awaits trial.” (CNN). In response to his trial on human smuggling charges, Garcia petitioned for the case to be thrown out due to vindictive and selective prosecution.
Three days post-release, ICE detained Garcia. Instead of sending him to a Salvadoran mega-prison, they are lobbying to send him to the central African nation of Uganda. Uganda, a small nation on the shores of Lake Victoria, is currently experiencing localized conflicts between groups over repression and terrorist threats. Alongside that is the fact that Uganda carries numerous severe human rights warnings. Garcia said that he would rather be deported to the Central American country of Costa Rica instead. The Trump Administration offered Garcia a plea deal, which would see him plead guilty to the smuggling charges and then be deported to Costa Rica. Now that he has rejected the plea, the administration is moving forward with his deportation to Uganda. One saving grace came when, on Monday, US District Judge Paula Xinis temporarily blocked his deportation. Judge Xinis blocked it until she can hold an evidentiary hearing.
“Kilmar Abrego Garcia can’t be deported until at least early October,” CNN reports. It is only temporary, however, and Garcia wants to remain in the US, as evidenced by his actions just yesterday. Yesterday, Garcia requested asylum in another attempt to completely avoid deportation to Uganda.
This has been your international news for the week! If you want to read more, visit my blog page!