President Trump to meet with Russian President Putin in hopes to end war in Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - For the first time since starting his second term in January, President Donald Trump plans on meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin face to face.

Trump made the announcement Friday afternoon during an event at the White House. He later posted on social media the meeting is planned for August 15 in Alaska.

“I think my instinct really tells me that we have a shot at it, okay? And you’ll find that out later on, maybe even today. But we have a shot at it. Look, it’s got to be solved,” Trump said Friday.

In three-and-a-half years of fighting, there’s been roughly one-and-a-half million reported casualties from both sides according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Although he sees this meeting as a opportunity to end the bloodshed, Trump said he doesn’t see it as Putin’s last chance to end the war.

“I don’t like using the term last chance. Look, this is a two very, very smart people they’ve been going at it for, and their predecessors also very smart, they’ve been going at it for 35 years. It’s tough. And you know when those guns start going off it’s awfully tough to get them to stop.” (Note, President Trump was referring to the prime ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, sitting next to him after signing a peace deal.)

While both the U.S. and Ukraine have expressed interest in peace, getting Russia on the same page has been as struggle.

“Ukraine is ready for real solutions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will not give anything. These are dead solutions. They will never work. And we all need a real, living peace that people will respect,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

In his first six months of his second term Trump has only spoken with Putin via phone, while the Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy deteriorated into a shouting match.