Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected any proposal to cede territory to Russia as part of a peace deal, stating "Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier." This declaration comes hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, in Alaska to discuss ending the war, a move Zelensky criticized for excluding Kyiv.

Zelensky emphasized that any peace decision made without Ukraine's involvement is invalid and will not lead to lasting peace 

In a video message posted to Telegram and series of X posts Saturday, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine will not give up its territory, stating the country "will not give Russia any awards for what it has done." He stressed that Ukraine's territorial integrity is enshrined in its constitution and is non-negotiable.

Zelensky dismissed the planned bilateral meeting between Trump and Putin, warning that decisions made without Ukraine are "dead decisions" that will never work. He insisted that the path to peace must be determined "together and only together with Ukraine."

The Ukrainian said he has spoken to several European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and others, expressing gratitude for their continued support and discussing the importance of Ukraine's role in any peace process. He also participated in a meeting hosted by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Vice President JD Vance in Kent, England, which he described as "constructive."

Western officials have reported that Putin, during a meeting with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, presented a plan that would require Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region and Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and freeze current battle lines.

The SpaceX Crew-10 mission successfully concluded with the splashdown of the Dragon capsule Endurance off the coast of California at 1533 UTC on Aug. 9. The crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, were safely recovered by SpaceX's recovery ship MV Shannon after a 17.5-hour journey from the International Space Station(ISS).

The splashdown took place approximately 150 miles off the coast of Southern California, near Oceanside and San Diego, in the Pacific Ocean, marking the first time a NASA Commercial Crew Program mission has landed in the Pacific Ocean on the West Coast, following the earlier private Fram2 mission's splashdown in April 2025.

The shift in landing location was primarily due to SpaceX's decision to jettison the Dragon capsule's trunk after the deorbit burn, ensuring any debris would fall harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean, away from populated areas.

"From the entire Crew-10, thank you," radioed Dragon commander McClain, soon after splashdown Saturday. "It was truly the ride of a lifetime."

The hatches between the Crew-10 Dragon capsule Endurance and the ISS closed at 2020 UTC on Aug. 8, and undocking occurred at 22:15 UTC.

The recovery operation was conducted under "fairly decent conditions," and the crew was given a medical evaluation after exiting the capsule, with the entire process taking about an hour from splashdown.

After recovery, the crew was flown to Houston, Texas, for further medical evaluations and debriefings 

The Crew-10 mission, which launched on March 14, 2025, from Kennedy Space Center, lasted 147 days, 16 hours, and 29 minutes, during which the crew conducted numerous scientific experiments and research.

For Ayers and Peskov, Crew-10 was their first spaceflight, while McClain and Onishi were on their second. Onishi also served as commander of ISS Expedition 73 until August 5, when he transferred leadership to cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov, concluding a significant chapter in the station’s ongoing operations.

President Donald Trump brokered a historic peace agreement Friday, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ending decades of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The deal, signed at the White House, commits both nations to lasting peace, the reopening of borders, and the development of a new transit corridor through Armenia, named the "Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity" (TRIPP), which will link Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave.

Trump described the moment as ending "35 years of death and hatred" and starting an era of "love and respect." Both Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev praised the agreement and expressed their intention to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

At the signing ceremony, Trump declared the end of a 35-year conflict, stating, "It’s a long time — 35 years they fought, and now they’re friends. And they’re going to be friends for a long time." He emphasized the deal's significance, calling it a "landmark achievement for international diplomacy" and a "historic peace summit." He highlighted the US's exclusive development rights to the TRIPP corridor and the lifting of restrictions on military cooperation with Azerbaijan. Trump also noted the agreement's potential to reshape regional politics and boost prosperity 

President Aliyev said the agreement would allow the nations to "turn the page of standoff, confrontation, and bloodshed and provide a bright and safe future for our children," and praised Trump for achieving a "miracle" in six months. Prime Minister Pashinyan called the event a "significant milestone" and affirmed that the peace process was only possible due to Trump's "personal engagement and his resolute commitment to peace."  Both leaders expressed their support for nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has roots in the late 1980s over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, leading to two major wars after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A 2020 ceasefire brokered by Russia introduced peacekeepers but failed to resolve the core dispute. In 2023, Azerbaijan intensified control, leading to the surrender of Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and the exodus of nearly all ethnic Armenians to Armenia.

This event heightened calls for a formal peace treaty. The new agreement includes a commitment to stop fighting, resume full diplomatic relations, and respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A key component is the disbanding of the OSCE Minsk Group, which had been tasked with mediating the conflict.

The TRIPP corridor, which will operate under Armenian legal jurisdiction, is expected to include rail, oil and gas lines, and fiber optics, facilitating trade and energy exports. While the agreement is seen as a major diplomatic breakthrough, experts note significant questions remain about the corridor's implementation, border demarcation, and potential constitutional changes in Armenia, which could pose future obstacles.

Meanwhile Trump has announced a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, in Alaska to discuss peace efforts for the war in Ukraine. This summit, the first between the two leaders since 2019 and the first U.S.-Russia presidential meeting since the start of the war in 2022, comes on the day of Trump's deadline for Russia to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire.

Trump said he is optimistic about reaching a peace deal and hinted at a potential "swapping" of territories as part of a resolution.

Putin presented a proposal to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, offering a full ceasefire in exchange for Ukraine ceding control of its eastern regions.

Under the proposal, Ukraine would withdraw its forces from Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, granting Russia full control of these territories, along with Crimea.

This comes amid a broader diplomatic effort where the U.S. is reportedly considering a proposal that would involve a ceasefire, with de facto recognition of Russian-occupied territories postponed for 49 or 99 years.

The U.S. proposal would involve the lifting of most sanctions on Russia, with long-term energy cooperation. This U.S. proposal reportedly does not include guarantees against NATO expansion, a key Russian demand.

The proposal would require Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to order a withdrawal of troops from parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions still held by Kyiv, handing Russia a victory that its army couldn’t achieve militarily since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Under the terms of the deal, Russia would halt its offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine along the current battlelines.

Putin on Friday held phone calls with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as with the leaders of South Africa, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus to share details of his Aug. 6 meeting with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, according to the Kremlin.

The U.S. is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal.

"The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to follow," Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday.

The announcement followed Trump's earlier statement that he would meet "very shortly" with Putin to discuss ending the war. Trump indicated he is willing to meet with Putin without Zelensky being present.

Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire. The two leaders held six phone calls since February and Witkoff met with Putin five times in Russia to try to broker an agreement.

Ukraine is seeking security guarantees to ensure any truce holds and is urging allies to keep Russia’s economy under pressure through sanctions.

The Alaska meeting will mark the first visit to Alaska by a Russian head of state since Alaska was sold by the Russians to America for $7.2 million in 1867.