President Donald Trump dismissed criticism of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as "fake news" Sunday night on Truth Social, saying the war in Ukraine could be ended "almost immediately" but critics were making it harder to do so.

President Trump refuted claims of defeat at the Alaska Summit with Putin, asserting the U.S. was Putin's least desired location. He criticized Democrats, alleging they encourage crime in their cities,

Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. A year later, the White House canceled a planned summit with Putin in Moscow, citing Russia's "disappointing decision" to grant asylum to national security leaker Edward Snowden and a lack of progress in the U.S.-Russia bilateral agenda.