Trump ‘will try to win some territory back for Ukraine’ — as it happened

“So far, there is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation. On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does.

“We continue to keep our partners informed about the real situation on the battlefield, in diplomacy, and in Russia’s planning of further actions.”

European foreign ministers have called for “transatlantic unity” to help end the war in Ukraine.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said the EU would work on more sanctions against Russia, more military support for Ukraine and the accession process for Ukraine to join the bloc.

In a message posted to X, she said: “Transatlantic unity, support to Ukraine and pressure on Russia is how we will end this war and prevent future Russian aggression in Europe.”

From Katy Balls in Washington

President Trump has made clear he wants to “take over Washington DC” — giving a long press conference today on his plans. How does he plan to do it?

Speaking to press in the briefing room, he said he was using Section 740 of DC’s Home Rule Act to place the attorney-general, Pam Bondi, in charge of the Metropolitan police department.

In 1973, Congress passed the Home Rule Act which allows US residents of Washington to elect their own mayor and city council. It was signed into law by President Nixon two years later. Section 740 is effectively a federal override that applies solely to the Metropolitan police department.

Could Trump go further? The elected representation provided by the Home Rule Act could only be taken away if Congress votes to do so.

Russia’s former foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev told Times Radio that he was not confident that Trump or his team truly understood Putin.

He said: “To talk to Putin is an art in itself. We who grew up [in the Soviet Union], and I worked in the Soviet Union as a diplomat, we understand it naturally.

“You have to understand the Russian language in detail, in nuances, not just a rough interpretation. Putin is using doublespeak. It’s like in Orwell’s book, 1984. Big Brother used a special speak. That’s what Putin does and that’s why I’m not optimistic about the meeting in Alaska, because I don’t see that there is anyone near to President Trump who could help him to decipher the Putin-speak.

“I’ll just give you one example, but a very telling example. In the Russian language, the word mir means both peace and the world. So basically, when Putin says, I want peace, that might be that he means ‘I want the world’.”

From Katy Balls in Washington

President Trump spoke at length about Ukraine but his comments raised as many questions as he provided answers. Trump at one point spoke about going to Russia, though the thinking is still that the summit will be taking place in Alaska.

As ever, the president is keen to keep the press and his opponents guessing as to what he will push for when he meets with the Russian leader. He says “we’re going to see what he [Putin] has in mind”, and suggested he would know how the meeting would end within about two minutes of it starting. Once again he raised the prospect of trading territory. He added that he may decide to say “good luck, keep fighting” by the end of it.

The one area where Trump did appear to offer clarity was on the attendance list for Friday. There had been talk — coming from US officials — that Zelensky could be added at the last minute. Trump suggested this week’s meeting would just be between him and Putin, but “out of respect” he would call Zelensky first after it had happened. That is likely to be of little relief to the Ukrainian side.

Rounding off his press conference, Trump repeated that he would be “going to Russia”.

He said: “It’s going to be a big thing. We’re going to Russia. That’s going to be a big deal. What happens happens, I’ll let you know what happens.”

Trump also said he would talk to President Zelensky and the European leaders before his meeting with Putin so he goes into it “fully loaded”.

He added that he would like to see a ceasefire “immediately”.

Trump said he believed the war in Ukraine would be “solved” once Zelensky and Putin are in a room together.

“I’m going to put the two of them in a room — I’ll be there or I won’t be there — and I think it will get solved,” he said.

Trump said he would try to get some territory back for Ukraine during his meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

The US president said the summit would be a “feel-out meeting” where he would tell the Russian leader to end the war. He said there would be “some swapping, some changes to land”.

“Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” he added. After his meeting with Putin, Trump said he would speak to Zelenksy first “out of respect” followed by other European leaders.

He also said he wanted the meeting after this one to be between Zelensky and Putin.

• What’s up for grabs at the Trump-Putin summit — and can a deal be agreed?

When leaders come to visit “everything should be perfect”, Trump said.

“Its a very strong reflection of our country,” he said. He recounted a story of his father telling him not to enter a restaurant with a dirty front door as the kitchen would be dirty too.

“Same thing with the capital. If our capital is dirty, our whole country is dirty and they won’t respect us.”

Trump blamed the “radical left” trying to rip down statues in Washington as one of the things that has eroded the capital’s image.

He said: “Washington DC should be one of the safest, cleanest, most beautiful places in the world. It was years ago.”

He said one of the problems was that “the radical left got out of control and started trying to rip down statues”. “I said let’s pass a law real fast,” he recounted. “We were blocked by Democrats who do not want safety.”

Trump retold how the law was passed, claiming it eradicated the issue with the statues. He said his administration would also “clean up the trash and the graffiti and the grime and the broken marble panels”.

President Trump said work was already under way to remove homeless encampments in Washington’s “beautiful parks”.

He said the authorities were “trying to take care of people” as they did it. “They will not be allowed to turn our capitol into a wasteland,” he said.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said the Washington national guard would be visible in the streets of the capital “in the coming week”.

Hegseth said other units were prepared to be brought in, including other national guard units and specialised units. “They will be strong, they will be tough and they will stand with their law-enforcement partners,” he said.

“It’s nothing new for [the Department of Defence]. At the border 10,000 troops are operating in defence co-operation areas where there are zero illegal crossings.”

From Katy Balls in Washington

It’s a full house in the White House briefing room as reporters clamour to get a view of the president for the special press conference. Flanked by members of his cabinet — the attorney-general, Pam Bondi; the FBI director, Kash Patel; the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the interior secretary, Doug Burgum — Trump is setting out his plans to place Washington’s police under federal control.

What’s the purpose of this? Officially it is that the city is overrun and plagued by crime and homelessness. The president’s mind was focused after a 19-year-old government worker — the former Doge employee nicknamed “Big Balls” — was the victim of crime last week. Trump has also complained about the appearance of the city’s streets.

But this is also clearly a political play. Trump has used the press conference to claim that “Democrats are weak on crime” and regularly attacked their record. Administration figures believe they are on firmer territory on law and order than the Democrats so this is also an opportunity to punch a political bruise.

The US has more law-enforcement departments than other countries but more crime, Trump said.

He listed the various forces, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, Park Police, US Marshall Service, Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

“Lots of nations don’t have anything like that,” he said. “They’ve got some police and they’re rough police. They do their job and they don’t have crime.”

Trump said people would see FBI agents in the streets of DC and he would bring in the military “if needed”.

He said the situation in DC was a “public-safety emergency”, adding: “You will have more police and you will be so happy because you will be safe.”

“When you walk down the street you will see police or you will see FBI agents. You’re going to have a lot of essentially military. And we will bring in the military if needed.”

Trump said it was “embarrassing” to have to be making this announcement, referencing his meeting with Putin later this week.

“It is embarrassing for me to be up here,” he said. “I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to Russia on Friday. I don’t want to be up here talking about how unsafe and dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was.”

Trump previously said he would meet Putin on Friday in Alaska, not Russia.

DC is experiencing “complete and total lawlessness”, Trump said as he listed a range of incidents.

He said he himself had “lost a very good person” — Mike Gill, a former Trump administration official, who was shot waiting for his wife in his car. Trump said it was a “horror show”.

Trump mentioned a former member of Doge staff who was “savagely beaten by a band of roving thugs after defending a young woman from an attempted carjacking” days ago and a 21-year-old congressional intern who was killed after being hit by stray bullet in a drive-by shooting.

He also mentioned a Democratic congressman who was carjacked at gunpoint not far from DC.

Trump said DC was not the only city affected, adding that other cities were “also bad”. He promised “we’re not going to lose our cities over this” and listed others which he said were “bad”: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland.

There are more than 8,000 national guardsmen in the District of Columbia. The deployment marks the second time that Trump has sent troops into a major American city this year.

In June, Trump sent about 4,000 national guardsmen and 700 marines into Los Angeles, overruling the Democratic mayor of California’s largest city in order to suppress protests against his immigration crackdown.

President Trump said he would deploy the Nation Guard to “re-establish law, order and public safety” in DC. He said the DC metropolitan police department would also be brought under direct federal control.

Trump said he would crack down on crime in DC “just as we did on the southern border”. He claimed that car thefts had doubled over the past five years, car-jackings had more than tripled and that murders in 2023 were at the highest rate in 25 years.

He said: “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people. We’re not going to let it happen anymore. Just as we did on the southern border. Nobody comes to our southern border anymore.”

President Trump has begun speaking, saying this is “liberation day” in Washington DC. He said he would be announcing “historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse”.

“This is liberation day in DC and we’re going to take our capital back,” he said.