TRUMP: ‘A VERY GOOD, EARLY STEP’: In a post on Truth Social last night, President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin would soon sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hash out details of a peace deal that would lead to the end of the three-and-a-half-year war.
The call would come after a full day of meetings that began with a one-on-one session with Zelensky and ended with a group meeting of Zelensky and seven European leaders, at which Trump declared, “I believe a peace agreement at the end of all of this is something that’s very attainable.”
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky. After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,” Trump said. “Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.”
The Kremlin immediately poured cold water on the idea, suggesting that while there may be more high-level talks, Putin is not ready to meet with Zelensky, whom he considers an illegitimate leader.
Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that while Putin “expressed support for the continuation of direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine” in his phone call with Trump, he also said “it would be necessary to study the possibility of raising the level of representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian sides,” according to the Institute for the Study of War.
RUSSIA ‘UNEQUIVOCALLY’ REJECTS NATO TROOPS IN UKRAINE: Russia’s Foreign Ministry also rejected what Trump has been portraying as a key concession from Putin, that he would agree to Western troops to provide security guarantees to assure Russia never invades Ukraine again.
“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help. It’s going to be good. They are the first line of defense because they’re there, they’re Europe, but we’re going to help them out also. We’ll be involved,” Trump said. “But we will give them very good protection, very good security, that’s part of it.”
In a statement, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova appeared to reject that out-of-hand. “We reiterate our long-standing position of unequivocally rejecting any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO military contingents in Ukraine, as this risks uncontrollable escalation with unpredictable consequences.”
TRUMP LEAVES DOOR OPEN ON US TROOP PRESENCE IN UKRAINE
A WHOLE NEW TONE: When Zelensky stepped off his plane upon arrival in Washington, he was sporting his trademark battledress look, black t-shirt, and brown pants, which he adopted after Russia invaded his country in 2022.
By the time he had arrived at the White House, Zelensky had acquired a suit jacket, collared shirt, and tie, all in black, so as not to give offense after he was attacked in February by Brian Glenn, a reporter for Real America’s Voice, for not wearing a suit in the Oval Office. As President Trump warmly greeted Zelensky, he gestured toward his tie, and gushed, “Look at it, I love it,” as they shared smiles and handshakes.
Later, Glenn offered a half-hearted apology. “President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit,” he said. “I apologize to you. You look wonderful.”
“You’re in the same suit. I changed, you are not,” Zelensky shot back with a smile on his face. The light moment was a hallmark of the convivial tone of the day’s meetings, which included seven European leaders, and was decidedly upbeat, even as there was a clear divide between the U.S. and European vision of how to achieve peace after three-and-a-half years of war.
Complimenting and thanking Trump was the order of the day, as Trump was clearly tickled to be hosting such a who’s who of America’s key allies. “It’s a great honor to have you here, a special place. White House is special. No matter where you’re from, represents so much,” Trump said before getting down to business. “We’re all working for the same goal, very simple goal — we want to stop the killing, get this settled.”
“Something has changed thanks to you,” said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to President Trump. “Thanks also to the stalling in the battlefield, which was achieved with the bravery of Ukrainians and with the unity that we all provided to Ukraine.”
You “broke the deadlock,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “I really want to thank you.”
Ultimately, Zelensky declared his “very good conversation” with President Trump to be “the best one.”
“It was really good,” he said. Then, after a slight pause he said hopefully, “Maybe the best one will be in the future.”
But wait, there’s more…
TRUMP AND ZELENSKY PLAY NICE: TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM HIGH-STAKES OVAL OFFICE REDO
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TRUMP: NO CEASEFIRE NECESSARY: “The path is open. You opened it last Friday,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was seated to Trump’s left in the second meeting of the day. “But now the way is open for complicated negotiations. And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire. I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire.”
Trump — who just last week declared a ceasefire to be a top priority — brushed aside the Merz’s overture just as he had earlier in his one-on-one meeting with Zelensky. “In the six wars that I’ve settled, I haven’t had a ceasefire. We just got into negotiations.”
“I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn’t want it,” Trump told Zelensky. “You have a ceasefire and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild, and, you know, maybe they don’t want that.”
“I like the concept. You know, I like the concept of a ceasefire for one reason, because you’d stop killing people immediately, as opposed to in two weeks or one week or whatever it takes,” Trump said. “But we can work a deal where we’re working on a peace deal while they’re fighting.”
CEASEFIRE PRO AND CON: The idea that a ceasefire was the linchpin of any future peace agreement was debated on CNN yesterday, with former national security adviser John Bolton, a frequent Trump critic, arguing Trump has a point.
“I think a ceasefire followed by negotiations is very much in Russia’s interest,” Bolton said. “If you freeze along the battle line and call that the ceasefire line and then start negotiating and negotiating all these complicated issues, that line gets harder and harder, and pretty soon it becomes a new border.”
“That’s what happened precisely in Korea. That’s what happened precisely in Cyprus. It’s happened in other cases, too,” Bolton said. “The way to put pressure on Russia is not to end the combat — because you’re also ending deep Ukrainian strikes inside Russia — but to supply Ukraine with the wherewithal to continue the fight and start Russia moving backward instead of moving forward.”
“It was a very successful strategy for the Chinese communists and their civil war. They called it talk, talk, fight, fight. And that’s what Ukraine ought to be doing,” Bolton said. “If Russia gets a ceasefire, Putin can rebuild and repurpose his army and get ready for what we know is phase three of the ultimate objective of conquering Ukraine.”
Taking the other side of the debate was Richard Haass, president emeritus at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“As complicated as a ceasefire can be, it’s an order of magnitude simpler or less complicated than a peace agreement,” Haass argued. “A peace agreement is meant to endure. It’s meant to be permanent. It has to deal with every single so-called final status issue about territory, about the presence of foreign troops, about security issues, about population transfers, you name it.”
“If you think about it, in Cyprus and in Korea, we have had a ceasefire, an effective ceasefire for more than 50 years. We’ve never reached final status agreements,” Haass said. “In the Middle East, we’ve had ceasefires, very rarely final status agreements. So why would we want the war in Ukraine to continue until every last I is dotted and T is crossed?”
“Essentially, we want the killing to stop. A ceasefire,” he said. “Can be done without prejudice. Each side can keep all of its dreams and keep all of its positions. Nothing signed away. What we’re simply trying to do is stop the war.”
“Putin has to reluctantly conclude that more war will not give him more results. I think if we do that, then we can bring this to a ceasefire,” Haass concluded. “And my guess is it won’t be Putin. It will be Putin’s successor or his successor. Successor and some of Zelensky’s successors who will one day negotiate something that looks like a permanent peace.”
HEGSETH TO ALLVIN: ‘WE WANT TO GO IN ANOTHER DIRECTION’: Anyone who’s ever been fired knows the conversation often goes something like this: “Dave, you’ve been doing a great job, but we’ve decided to go in another direction.”
That’s what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly told the Air Force’s most senior officer last week, according to the Washington Post, and the result was that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin promptly announced his resignation two years early. Allvin, like all the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serves at the pleasure of the president, and can be replaced at any time for any reason. Or no reason, for that matter.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve as the 23rd Air Force Chief of Staff and I’m thankful for Secretary [Troy] Meink, Secretary Hegseth and President Trump’s faith in me to lead our service,” Allvin said in an Air Force press release. “More than anything, I’m proud to have been part of the team of Airmen who live out our core values of integrity, service and excellence every day as we prepare to defend this great nation.”
With his unceremonious departure, Allvin joins a growing list of senior military officers essentially fired for not meeting some undefined Trump standard, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations, the commandant of the Coast Guard, and the vice chief of staff of the Air Force.
TOP AIR FORCE GENERAL ANNOUNCES EARLY RETIREMENT AFTER PRESSURE FROM TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump and Zelensky play nice: Top takeaways from high-stakes Oval Office redo
Washington Examiner: Trump leaves door open on US troop presence in Ukraine
Washington Examiner: Five Ukraine things the Europeans are asking of Trump
Washington Examiner: Zelensky dunks on reporter joking about his suit: ‘I changed, you did not’
Washington Examiner: Hostages will be released ‘when Hamas is confronted and destroyed,’ Trump says
Washington Examiner: Top Air Force general announces early retirement after pressure from Trump administration
Washington Examiner: Zelensky weighs land concessions and US-backed security ahead of White House meeting
Washington Examiner: Rubio pulls 6,000 student visas after Trump order to review for ‘security risks’
Washington Examiner: State Department’s new human rights report slams Europe’s assault on free speech
Washington Post: Saying ‘thank you’ to Trump is high on Zelensky, other leaders’ agendas
The Economist: Putin’s “land swap” is really a grab for Ukraine’s fortress belt
Air & Space Forces Magazine: HACM Flight Tests Expected in Fiscal ’26 After Yearlong Delay
AP: Hijacked Satellites and Orbiting Space Weapons: In the 21st Century, Space Is the New Battlefield
Defense One: Pentagon Readies New Battery Strategy amid Growing Drone Demands
The War Zone: Glimpses of China’s New Air Combat Drones Emerge Ahead of Massive Military Parade
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Startup Unveils Autonomous Cargo Drones for Distributed Ops in the Pacific
Stars and Stripes: AFRICOM Now Headed by Air Force General After Handoff by Marines’ Langley
The War Zone: Pickle Fork-Like Stealthy Drone with Buddy Refueling Capability Being Developed by Kratos
Breaking Defense: After Cuts to DOD’s Cyber Workforce, Experts See Short-Term Readiness Risks, but Also Opportunity
Defense Scoop: Defense Health Agency Offers Voluntary Buyouts as Part of Workforce Reduction Effort
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | AUGUST 19
8:25 a.m.801 N Glebe Rd., Arlington, Va. — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement “2025 Counter UAS Summit,” August 19-20, with Lewis Monroe, associate administrator and chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Defense Nuclear Security https://www.idga.org/events-counteruas-usa
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Can the U.S. Broker A Durable Agreement Between Russia and Ukraine? Analyzing the Trump-Putin Summit,” with Andrew Weiss, CEIP vice president for studies; Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow; and Eric Ciaramella, Ukraine initiative director, CEIP Russia and Eurasia Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/08/can-the-us-broker-a-durable-agreement
11:30 a.m. — Advanced Technology Academic Research Center virtual discussion: “Space Innovation and Defense Working Group Kickoff Roundtable,” with retired Maj. Gen. John Olson, president, chairman and CEO of AXIONS Corporation; Peter Guinto, senior technical adviser for contract pricing at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; and Gordon Deng, cloud customer engineer and acting portfolio lead at U.S. Space Force Gravity Platform https://atarc.org/event/space-innovation-and-defense-working-group-virtual-roundtable/
2 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Counterterrorism and U.S. Strategy,” with Sebastian Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council https://www.hudson.org/events/counterterrorism-us-strategy
WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 20
8:55 a.m. 801 N Glebe Rd., Arlington, Virginia — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement “2025 Counter UAS Summit,” with Col. Scott McLellan, military deputy of the Army Joint C-sUAS Office https://www.idga.org/events-counteruas-usa
9 a.m. — Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual discussion: “Are the Sanctions on Russia Finally Working?” with Torbjorn Becker, director, Stockholm School of Economics Institute of Transition Economics; Elina Ribakova, vice president of foreign policy, Kyiv School of Economics; and Cecilia Malmstrom, PIIE nonresident senior fellow https://www.piie.com/events/2025/are-sanctions-russia-finally-working
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Future of U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals Cooperation,” with Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd; and Gracelin Baskaran, director, CSIS Critical Minerals Security Program https://www.csis.org/events/future-us-australia-critical-minerals-cooperation
10 a.m. — New America virtual book discussion: Great Power, Great Responsibility: How the Liberal International Order Shapes U.S. Foreign Policy, with author Michael Poznansky, associate professor, Naval War College Strategic and Operational Research Department https://www.newamerica.org/planetary-politics/events/great-power-great-responsibility
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual media briefing: “Previewing White House Visit of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung,” with Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chair; Philip Luck, director, CSIS Economics Program; Sydney Seiler, CSIS Korea chair; and Katrin Fraser Katz, CSIS Korea chair https://www.csis.org/events/press-briefing-previewing
8 p.m. — Jews United for Democracy and Justice virtual discussion: “How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine,” with retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former director for European affairs at the National Security Council; and Madeleine Brand, host of the daily news and culture show Press Play https://www.jewsunitedfordemocracy.org/blog/event
THURSDAY | AUGUST 21
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Replicator and Beyond: The Future of Drone Warfare,” with T.S. Allen, former director of Replicator-1 at the Defense Department Defense Innovation Unit; former Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger; and Aditi Kumar, former principal deputy director of Replicator-1 at the Defense Department Defense Innovation Unit https://www.brookings.edu/events/replicator-and-beyond-the-future-of-drone-warfare/
2 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE — Heritage Foundation discussion: “Trump New Counterterrorism Strategy Landscape,” with Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council; and James Jay Carafano, senior counselor to the president and fellow at the Heritage Foundation https://www.heritage.org/terrorism/event/trump
FRIDAY | AUGUST 22
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar: “Deterrence in the Balance: Arms Control, Modernization, and Strategic Resolve,” with Mike Albertson, former senior adviser in the Office of the Secretary of Defense Office of Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/deterrence-in-the-balance
TUESDAY | AUGUST 26
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defense and Security Department and the U.S. Naval Institute or a Maritime Security Dialogue virtual and in-person discussion: “The Future of Naval Aviation,” with Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander, Naval Air Forces and commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in conversation with retired Rear Adm. Raymond Spicer, chief executive officer and publisher, U.S. Naval Institute https://www.csis.org/events/future-naval-aviation-conversation-vadm-cheever
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2
3 p.m. Senate Chamber — Senate meets to resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S.2296, the “National Defense Authorization Act.” At approximately 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S.2296. http://www.senate.gov
