Live updates and the latest news as a D.C. law enforcement checkpoint draws protestors and Trump and Putin prepare for their summit in Alaska.

President Donald Trump warned that "severe consequences" lie ahead for Russia if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't agree to stop the Ukraine war after they meet for a high-stakes summit in Alaska on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to stop his war in Ukraine after their Friday summit in Alaska,

Speculation has swirled over whether the Trump-Putin summit will result in the map of Ukraine being forcibly – and fundamentally – altered. Russia has laid claim to vast parts of Ukraine since 2014, when President Vladimir Putin made his first move.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the United States is taking action to stop the war in Ukraine, in a meeting with Russian top officials ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska with US President Donald Trump.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the U.S. administration was making "sincere efforts" to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and suggested Moscow and Washington could reach a deal on nuclear arms control.

European leaders said a call with President Donald Trump was unifying and that he agreed Ukraine should be part of any negotiations over territory, but some still worry he could give in to Russian President Vladimir Putin.