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.

For most of his quarter-century rule, President Vladimir Putin visited Paris, London, Vienna and New York. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine, however, his destinations have been places like Minsk, Pyongyang, Hanoi and Beijing, as the West sought to turn Russia into a pariah.

Russia has countered Western attempts to isolate it by bolstering its ties with ex-Soviet allies and other developing countries. Putin's travel also has been limited by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in 2023 that has prompted him to avoid visits to places that recognize the court's authority. The U.S. isn't a member of the court and thus doesn't have an obligation to arrest him.

Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine was gaining speed and seizing more ground Wednesday ahead of a summit in Alaska between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

According to an AFP analysis of battlefield data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces have made their biggest 24-hour advance into Ukraine in more than a year.

U.S. President Donald Trump praised European leaders as "great people" on Wednesday ahead of talks in Berlin on ending the war in Ukraine.

Trump was to participate in a conference call with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of his summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.