Diplomatic pressure from the Europeans and Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian military advances in Ukraine - each camp is trying to consolidate its positions ahead of tomorrow's meeting in Alaska between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
The American president, who said he wanted to "test the waters" with his Russian counterpart, said yesterday that two outcomes were possible.
If the meeting goes well, it will "almost immediately" will lead to a three-way meeting between him, the Russian president and Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war that began in February 2022 with the Russian invasion.
But if his first personal meeting with the Kremlin leader since 2019 goes badly, Donald Trump has assured that there will be no "second meeting" to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Affected by media comments describing the meeting as a diplomatic victory for Vladimir Putin, the US president assured that Russia would face "very serious consequences" if it did not agree to end the war.
However, he did not give details about this threat, which is not the first of its kind.
Donald Trump is scheduled to speak from the Oval Office today, but the White House did not specify the topic of his address.
Yesterday, there were no roadblocks, cordoned off neighborhoods or even a visible police presence on the streets of downtown Anchorage.
At first glance, there are no signs that such an important meeting will take place at this location.
At the airport, however, journalists with cameras mingled with tourists carrying fishing rods. Hotels are fully booked and car rental companies are overwhelmed.
The two leaders will meet at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base, whose strategic importance reached its peak during the Cold War.
A very good conversation
To allow the Russian delegation to visit, the US Treasury Department decided tomorrow to temporarily lift sanctions imposed after the start of the war in Ukraine on Vladimir Putin and several high-ranking officials.
Until the very end, each side is trying to consolidate its positions - the Russians on the front lines, and Kiev and the Europeans through diplomatic channels.
Donald Trump said he had a "very good conversation" yesterday with the Ukrainian president and the leaders of European countries, the EU and NATO.
"We hope that the main topic of Friday's meeting will be a ceasefire", Zelensky said.
He expressed concerns that the meeting between the Russian and American presidents will not continue, outlining a long-term settlement of the conflict to the detriment of his country.
That is why yesterday the Europeans made efforts to influence the way of thinking with which Donald Trump - a leader with an unstable temperament - approaches the meeting.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned a "real chance" of a ceasefire.
Vladimir Putin is preparing to travel to Alaska amid the rapid advance of Russian forces on Ukrainian territory. Russian troops said they had captured over 110 square kilometers on August 12, compared to the previous day – something that has not happened since late May 2024.
Territory swap
In a sign of the worsening situation, Ukraine yesterday ordered the evacuation of people from a dozen villages in the eastern part of the country.
At least three people were killed in Russian artillery shelling and drone strikes in the southern Kherson region early yesterday morning, local authorities said.
Russia is demanding that Ukraine cede four partially occupied regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson), in addition to Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, and renounce Western arms supplies and NATO membership.
For Kiev, these demands are unacceptable.
Donald Trump predicts a "territorial swap", provided that the Russian army has occupied about 20% of the territory of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out any withdrawal from areas in eastern Ukraine as part of a peace agreement.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine was "ready to discuss territorial issues" but not "legal recognition" of Russia's occupation of parts of its territory.
"Territorial issues will be agreed only by the Ukrainian president," said French President Emmanuel Macron.
For its part, Moscow downplayed these consultations between the Americans and the Europeans.
Translation from French: Valeria Dinikova, BTA