Watch live as Trump and Putin meet for tense summit hours after US President's threat

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are meeting this afternoon in Alaska, for the first time since 2019. Their high-profile meeting is set to focus on the war in Ukraine, although Mr Trump has previously said no deal will be struck without Volodymyr Zelensky taking part in the discussion.

Ahead of their summit, Mr Trump warned he was ready to "walk" away from the meeting should it not go as well as he planned. The US President also said Putin would face "very severe" consequences if they can't hammer out a ceasefire deal to end the bloodshed in Ukraine.

Both Mr Trump and Putin arrived at the Alaskan base, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, where the summit is taking place before 8pm, with the US President landing before his Russian counterpart.

As the world's two superpowers converged in Anchorage, millions in Ukraine will likely be deeply anxious about what agreement may be struck without Mr Zelensky present.

The White House billed the summit as a "preliminary, exploratory" summit, but one that could set the stage for an eventual agreement to end the war.

This is Putin's first trip to the US since 2015 for the UN General Assembly in New York.

Because the US isn't a member of the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 issued a warrant for Putin on war crimes accusations, it's under no obligation to arrest him.