Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky will head to Washington on Monday to discuss "ending the killing and the war" with U.S. President Donald Trump, he announced Saturday.

U.S. President Donald Trump early Saturday ruled out an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine after his summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska and said a direct peace agreement would end the war.

Iran said Thursday it was working with China and Russia to prevent the snapback of European sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program after Britain, France and Germany threatened to reimpose them.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin meet Friday in Alaska in a high-stakes, high-risk summit that could prove decisive for the future of Ukraine.

The U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska is happening where East meets West — quite literally — in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering.

Whether it can lead to a deal to produce peace in Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years after Moscow's invasion remains to be seen.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 84 prisoners of war from each side on Thursday, the Russian defense ministry said, in the latest swap which has seen hundreds of POWs released so far this year.

The ministry said on Telegram that the United Arab Emirates had mediated the exchange and that the released Russian service personnel were receiving "psychological and medical assistance".

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday welcomed U.S. efforts to end the Ukraine conflict, speaking a day ahead of his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

"The U.S. administration... in my view is making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting," Putin told a meeting of top officials.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to London on Thursday, a day before a critical U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska.

Zelensky's trip to the British capital comes a day after he took part in virtual meetings from Berlin with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of several European countries. Those leaders said Trump had assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Anchorage.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has mocked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer to help with Iran's water crisis.

Pezeshkian said Wednesday on X that Israel has denied Palestinians access to water and food, so can't be trusted.

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that there will be "very severe consequences" if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after the two leaders meet for a summit later this week in Alaska.

Trump made the comment in response to a question from a reporter after announcing this year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients in Washington. He did not say what the consequences might be.