Renowned Danish film director Lars von Trier has issued a statement condemning Denmark’s decision to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, adding that “Russian lives also count.”
Von Trier published a post on his Instagram account in response to Copenhagen’s promise to send fighter jets to Kiev. The post is addressed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The latter is described by von Trier as a person “like someone head over heels in love, posing in the cockpit of one of the most terrifying death machines of our time, grinning from ear to ear”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Mette Frederiksen. Photo: facsimile, DR1.
The reference is to Frederiksen and Zelenskyj posing for the cameras in an F-16 on Sunday. Denmark has promised to donate 19 of the US-made fighter jets and, along with the Netherlands, has led the effort to arm Ukraine with them. They have also reportedly begun training some Ukrainian pilots.
The Netherlands has promised to deliver an unspecified number of fighter jets at a later date.
is a Danish film director, screenwriter and actor. He is known for a prolific and controversial career spanning nearly four decades. He has received more than 100 awards and nominations at film festivals around the world, including the Palme d'Or (Dancing in the Dark) and the Grand Prix (Breaking the Waves). He has also received the Cesar, David di Donatello, Goya, Independent Spirit, Sputnik and other awards.
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US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met overnight into Friday for a summit in Alaska, where the situation in Ukraine was at the center of discussions. No concrete ceasefire agreement was reached, but both leaders described the meeting as constructive and indicated that dialogue will continue.
At a joint press conference following the meeting, Trump described the talks as “extremely productive” and explained that the parties had agreed on “several major points,” although no final agreement was signed.
– So just to put it very quickly, I’m going to start making a few phone calls and tell them what happened. But we had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to. There are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there, said the American president.
Putin emphasizes bilateral relations
Putin opened the press conference by focusing on the relationship between the US and Russia. The Russian president expressed confidence that Trump will contribute to improved relations between the two superpowers.
– In general, me and President Trump have very good direct contact. We’ve spoken multiple times. We spoke frankly on the phone … Our advisers and heads of foreign ministries kept in touch all the time, and we know fully well that one of the central issues was the situation around Ukraine, Putin explained during the press conference.
Despite the ongoing war, Putin described Ukraine as a “brotherly nation,” which can be seen as an attempt to signal openness to diplomatic solutions.
🚨FULL REMARKS: President Trump Participates in a Press Conference with the Russian President Vladimir Putin – No deal until there’s a deal.
Putin admits the Russia-Ukraine war wouldn’t have happened if Trump were President in 2022
The summit, which lasted just over two and a half hours, concluded shortly after midnight local time. Around 2 AM Central European Time, Putin headed to his plane for the return journey to Moscow.
Although no concrete results were presented, both leaders hinted that negotiations may continue. Trump’s statement that he will “start making some calls” suggests that diplomatic efforts will continue.
The two presidents took a firm grip during their greeting at the US air base before later beginning the tense negotiations concerning, among other things, the war in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are holding a summit today at the US military base Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. This is the first time Putin has visited the United States in approximately ten years, and the Ukraine conflict is expected to dominate the talks.
President Trump personally received his Russian counterpart on the airfield’s runway when Putin arrived shortly after Air Force One. A red carpet had been rolled out with a large sign marked ‘Alaska 2025’ at its end, while four American fighter jets were positioned on both sides of the carpet.
The initial talks will only include the presidents and their closest advisors, before the full delegations join later. After the negotiations, Trump and Putin plan to hold a joint press conference.
The meeting could last up to seven hours
The summit could last between six and seven hours, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. While the Ukraine conflict is widely expected to be the meeting’s central theme, the agenda will encompass significantly more than that, according to Moscow.
– Other topics the two presidents are slated to discuss include bilateral Russia-US relations, possible joint economic projects, and other regional and international issues, says Peskov.
High-level delegations from both sides
The Russian delegation includes, in addition to Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov and the president’s economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who has been a key figure in the Ukraine negotiation process.
From the American side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Special Envoy to Ukraine and the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are participating, according to White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will also participate in an expanded bilateral meeting and lunch, the White House announced.
This is Putin’s eighth visit to the United States and the first in approximately a decade. The last time the Russian president was in America was in 2015, when he participated in the UN General Assembly in New York and held talks with then-President Barack Obama.
US Vice President J.D. Vance states that the country is moving toward ending its economic support to Ukraine in the war against Russia.
At the same time, he emphasizes that he has nothing against Europe continuing to deliver American weapons to Kiev – as long as they pay for this themselves.
— I think the President, and I certainly think that America, we’re done with the funding of the Ukraine war business. We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing. We want to stop the killing, Vance said in an interview with Fox News, which aired on Sunday.
He emphasized that public opinion in the US no longer supports continued economic aid to Kiev.
— But Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars, to this particular conflict, Vance continued.
“Got to step up”
JD VANCE: “THE U.S. IS DONE FUNDING THE UKRAINIAN WAR”
Senator JD Vance just dropped a political bombshell:
️ “If the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers, we’re okay with that — but we’re not going to fund it ourselves… pic.twitter.com/PXzTaGzhbH
The Vice President did, however, leave the door open for the US having nothing against continued European military support to Ukraine – even where American weapons are involved – as long as this happens without American financing.
— But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers. We’re okay with that, but we’re not going to fund it ourselves anymore, he added.
The interview was recorded before the official announcement of President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, but was aired in its entirety only on Sunday. Vance also repeated the Trump administration’s line that European countries must themselves bear greater responsibility for the war.
— What we said to the Europeans is simply: First of all, this is in your neck of the woods, this is in your back door. You guys got to step up and play a bigger role in this thing. And if you care so much about this conflict, you should be willing to play a more direct and a more substantial way in funding this war yourselves, Vance explained.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on August 15 to discuss the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the EU wants the US to increase pressure on Russia, and Ukrainian President Zelensky refuses to give up territory.
The meeting is marked by uncertainty, and a Russian negotiator warns of the risk that it could be sabotaged.
The summit in Alaska between the US’s Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin is one of the most talked-about diplomatic initiatives since the war in Ukraine began over three years ago.
On the agenda is the possibility of finding a path to peace – or at least a ceasefire – in a conflict that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, destabilized European security, and drained the economies of many countries, especially in Europe.
So far, it is planned as a bilateral meeting, but the White House has expressed openness to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also participating in a trilateral discussion.
Zelensky himself has said clearly that he will never approve of Ukraine giving up territories to end the war. He emphasizes that a peace solution without Ukraine’s involvement would be meaningless.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 08.08.25 06:03 PM EST
The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska. Further details to…
— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) August 8, 2025
EU opposition and Russian skepticism
Several European leaders have given their clear support to Zelensky and demand that the US increase pressure on Russia to force real peace negotiations.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas recently said that the US holds the tools to bring Russia to the negotiating table and that all talks must involve both Ukraine and the EU to ensure the continent’s security.
Meanwhile, Russia expresses skepticism about the meeting’s possibilities. A prominent Russian negotiator has warned that the meeting risks being sabotaged by forces that do not want to see an end to the conflict.
“Certainly, several nations that have a vested interest in prolonging the conflict will take titanic efforts (provocations and disinformation) to torpedo the planned meeting”, warns Kirill Dmitriev.
The continued Russian military offensive in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of territories deepens the divisions and makes diplomatic efforts extremely complicated.
Volodymyr Zelensky thanks Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for all the economic support and all the weapons deliveries that Sweden has given to Ukraine. Photo: Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden
What can we expect from the meeting?
The meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin since the Russian invasion in 2022, and has attracted broad international attention. Critics argue that any real breakthroughs are difficult to expect, while there is some hope that diplomatic channels will be opened further.
Expectations are therefore cautious but still clear: Trump wants to pressure Putin into a ceasefire, while Russia has set high demands that the Ukrainian government and the Western world are unwilling to accept. Zelensky and European allies emphasize that peace must be built on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
How much this can be combined with Putin’s ambitions and Trump’s own negotiation tactics remains to be seen.
