Fiona Hill, who served as a Russia analyst on the National Security Council during Donald Trump ’s first term in office, said Sunday on CBS that Vladimir Putin’s decision to push baseless claims against mail-in voting during his summit with the U.S. president is a glaring “manipulation” tactic.

Trump began to tiptoe away from Putin and toward Zelenskyy in late April after Russia bombarded Kyiv with missiles. The president, however, is also reportedly considering land swaps, including Ukraine areas not currently occupied by the Russians, according to the New York Times, something U.S. allies have opposed in the past.

Ahead of the multilateral meeting, President Donald Trump was caught on a hot mic saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reach a resolution to the war for him. CNN’s chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny reports.

Another major talking point is on security guarantees. Trump says security guarantees for Ukraine would be "provided" by European countries with "coordination" by the US. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told the BBC that the UK negotiators will shortly be arriving in Washington for further planning on this.

As Trump and the leaders of European countries finished their family photo, the group was preparing to begin the summit in earnest.

After a meeting at the White House on Monday, the French president said that if there is no progress in talks, Russia should be hit with more sanctions.

In the first lady’s “peace letter” to Putin, she told the Russian president that “it is time” to protect children and future generations worldwide.

Trump's action comes after his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, where the Russian leader told him that mail-in ballots led to his electoral defeat in 2020, Trump said.