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Trump Meeting With Russia's Putin; Russian Media Hails Alaska Summit; Hurricane Erin Rapidly Intensifies Into Category 5 Storm; What Trump, Putin Body Language Reveals About Ukraine Talks; Ukrainian POW Returns Home After Three Years In Russia; "AMERICAN PRINCE: JFK JR.". Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired August 16, 2025 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:28]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with breaking news.

A European official tells CNN President Trump left his meeting with Vladimir Putin believing the Russian president was open to the idea of a trilateral summit that would include Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump has confirmed he will meet with Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday. Shortly after Fridays summit in Alaska, Trump said he and Putin reached a consensus on several issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think those are points that we negotiated and those are points that we largely have agreed on, actually.

I think we've agreed on a lot. And I can tell you the meeting was a very warm meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Zelenskyy, who was left out of the Alaska summit, says Russia should face steeper sanctions if a trilateral meeting does not happen.

Conversations between Trump and European leaders after the summit included discussions of security guarantees for Ukraine, similar to those between NATO countries. \

The summit did not end with a ceasefire agreement, and early this morning, Trump reversed his own position, saying he now believes that a peace agreement, not a ceasefire, is the best way to end the war.

We've got full coverage for you. Nick Paton Walsh is in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, and Alayna Treene is at the White House.

First to you, Nick. Does it seem like everyone is taking the idea of a trilateral meeting seriously?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, it's incredibly hard to tell if we will ever get there. But my understanding, from speaking to a European official familiar with the call that Trump had with European leaders is that they came away from that thinking Trump felt that Putin was agreed or into the idea of a trilateral meeting between himself, Trump and Zelenskyy.

Now, that's important because the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, proposed such summit in May and had the backing and support for Trump to attend and try and cajole Putin into being there but Putin rejected it. There's technical reasons, they said it takes a lot of preparation, a meeting like that.

So either something has changed significantly or Trump may end up disappointed. But it's important because it's one sign of potential progress from the Alaska meeting, which wasn't immediately apparent from the tone of both leaders as they skipped lunch together and left reasonably quickly.

And it's also another potential opportunity for the Kremlin to spin this out, to make this a longer process.

Fred, there are two other important things that have seemed to have emerged this morning as European leaders have spoken to Trump and Zelenskyy as well. That is, that Vladimir Putin is still sticking by his long-held demands, or part of his long-held demands, for the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine, partially occupied by Russia, currently being heavily fought over, Russia, making ground, for Ukraine to pull out of that entirely as part of a peace deal.

Now the payoff for Ukraine would essentially be a cessation of hostilities, but Ukraine has clearly said it will not do that. And practically, that's asking tens of thousands of people to suddenly leave their homes and give up a huge swathe of the country to Russian occupation.

The third element were hearing about as well, too, is the possibility that a sweetener for Ukraine is emerging in these talks or proposals in these talks of a kind of security guarantee?

Now, they've always asked for security guarantees. Europe has been trying to provide them. The one that NATO -- Ukraine wanted was NATO membership. That's not on the cards.

But I understand from a European official that an Article Five-type security guarantee might be something that the U.S. is willing to back up as well. That's a reference to the NATO charter's clause about an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

And so that is clearly designed, I think, to make Ukraine feel that Europe and the U.S. increasingly have their back. The theory, I think, is that that would kick in in the event of a peace deal, to say to Russia, look, you've got what you think you can out of the talks here. Don't try another invasion on, because if you do, you'll meet the United States and Europe and Ukraine all together.

[11:04:44]

WALSH: All of this, though, I should stress, up for discussion. All of this, the impression of European officials from the talks Trump has had. Is it the same as that which Trump recalled speaking to Putin, or is a gloss being put on it for European audiences?

Always incredibly hard to tell in all of this, but slightly lighter feelings here, potentially, about the idea of security guarantees, but still deep concern that Putin's more maximalist demands don't appear to have remotely changed.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh in Kyiv, thanks so much.

All right. Now to Alayna Treene at the White House. So, what are we hearing from the White House a day after that meeting, and now a couple of days ahead of the next meeting, this time at the White House with Ukraine's Zelenskyy?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It's been pretty quiet here, Fred. We haven't heard much more from the White House after they've returned here after their, you know, long trip back from Alaska.

But we did hear from the president this morning shortly after he arrived back on the White House complex, which was essentially saying that he was going to be having Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday to continue these talks. He said, if all goes well, he's hoping that means there will be a trilateral meeting essentially getting Donald Trump to his goal of finally having Zelenskyy, but also Vladimir Putin in the room together to really further hash some of this out.

One key thing as well, which was very notable from some of the lines that the president posted this morning, was that he said that after speaking with European leaders and Zelenskyy, that essentially they all agreed or all determined that they should try to abandon kind of this goal of having what he said was a mere ceasefire and instead going directly for a much longer-term peace deal.

Now, of course, it's still unclear whether or not they all did agree on that. We did see Zelenskyy post following what Trump had said, kind of arguing or suggesting that he still believes a ceasefire needs to happen before they can reach any sort of long-term agreement.

He said the killing needs to stop, and the bombing and the airstrikes need to stop as well.

But some other things I think are worth pointing out here. And Nick touched on it, this idea that potentially security guarantees from the United States, from the Trump administration itself, would be a massive deal for Ukraine.

Up until this point, really, you've heard President Trump saying that security guarantees are really the onus is on the Europeans for that.

But we did also see a statement from the United Kingdom, from their Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying and kind of thanking the United States for their openness to providing potential security guarantees. So that is very much likely, we expect, to come up on Monday.

Another key thing as well is, of course, we still really do not have details from what happened in the room in Alaska when Putin and Trump were face to face.

The president has really tried carefully to keep those details quiet. You heard him on Fox News yesterday following the summit, speaking with Sean Hannity, saying he doesn't want to announce them just yet.

But of course, this idea of land swaps was expected to come up. Trump had said that repeatedly was likely to going -- was likely going to be discussed yesterday in Alaska. But again, no real firm details of what that could look like.

All to say, I think the stakes are very high now for what happens on Monday and whether we will see this process continue and whether Trump will ultimately see his goal of having both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders in the same room for a for a second meeting will actually happen.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene at the White House, Nick Paton Walsh also, in Kyiv -- thanks to both of you.

All right. So the Kremlin has its own take on how the Alaska summit went. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow with that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians seem to be pretty happy with the way the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska went down. Russian media celebrating the way that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was received by U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the handshake between the two leaders, quote, "historic".

Also, the spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, she came out and said that for three years, the West has been telling people that Russia is isolated on the international stage, and now they see Vladimir Putin on the red carpet on U.S. soil.

Another person who also talked about this was the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev. And he said, first of all, the Russians are quite happy that it seems as though that threat of massive sanctions by President Trump, at least for now, is off the table.

Medvedev also saying that he believes there is now a mechanism in place for Russia and the United States to speak to one another without any threats or pressure.

But most importantly, he says, he believes that right now the door is open for negotiations, even as what Russia calls its special military operation continues.

That is, of course, the position that Russia has had for a very long time, where they have said they are against an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict.

Instead, what they want is longer-term talks towards a wider agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:09:51]

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

A short time ago, the White House released this photo of Trump and Putin at the summit with the caption, "The goal is always peace".

With us now, Kevin Tibbles, he is a co-producer and correspondent of the film "Putin's Endgame: The Stakes Beyond Ukraine". Great to see you again, Kevin.

So I wonder your reaction to that newest image. I hope you got a chance to see it, this new image that the White House is releasing. It puts Trump in a more dominant position with his finger being pointed near the chest of Putin. We don't know what's being said at that moment, but you know, sometimes pictures say everything. What does that picture say to you?

KEVIN TIBBLES, CO-PRODUCER, "PUTIN'S ENDGAME: THE STAKES BEYOND UKRAINE: Well, it says that somebody today is trying to do a little bit of damage control after the United States rolled out the red carpet in Alaska yesterday and invited someone who is a suspected war criminal into U.S. territory to discuss the carving up of an independent country by the name of Ukraine.

There's all kinds of talk about, are we going to get a ceasefire? Do we want to have a peace deal? I don't think that we should really be losing sight of the fact that it was Russia that attacked Ukraine three years ago, that it is Russia that claims that Ukraine is not a real country.

And there's something that I've been thinking about specifically over the last 24 hours, although I think a lot of us have been thinking about it over the last three years. And that is that we should not lose sight of the fact that some 35,000 Ukrainian children have essentially been kidnaped from Ukraine and taken into Russia to be reeducated, redistributed into Russian families and essentially turned into little Russians.

And as I say all of this, I just wonder, the people that we spoke to in our documentary "Putin's Endgame", those being the neighbors of Russia -- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Finland who have joined NATO as a result of what Mr. Putin has done, I wonder what people are saying in those countries today with regards to whether there is a ceasefire or whether there's a peace deal?

Does it really make any difference what you want to call it because as far as I can see at this point, Fredricka, it's just more words and it's more delay from Vladimir Putin.

WHITFIELD: You know, and as we look at these images, you know, to showing these two leaders and you underscore the point of the red carpet was rolled out at a U.S. military base, no less. You know, a ride in the president's limo? No ceasefire, no promise of Russia ending its incursion of Ukraine.

And there was deference. Does it not seem deference that was given to President Putin there? He perhaps arrived, you know, with a real advantage, right, because there were no real concessions that needed to have been made.

And now he leaves, perhaps in an equally, if not more so powerful position because he didn't have to acquiesce or agree to anything.

President Trump is now saying, no, ceasefire. Now we're pursuing a peace deal. Is that plausible in your view?

TIBBLES: Well, again, referring back to your correspondent in Moscow, how is it playing out over there today? Oh, he was on the red carpet. Oh, he was, you know, he was -- shook the hand of the president of the United States. What a photo op. What an opportunity for someone who is wanted throughout the world to not only show his own people that he has still some relevance on the world stage.

And at the same time, you know, we keep talking about sanctions all the time. You know, the world has put sanctions on Russia. Now we see that the United States is punishing India for purchasing oil that is delivered through this shadow fleet. This, I prefer to call it a "shadowy fleet" of tankers that are -- that's delivering oil all over the world, skirting these sanctions.

This shadowy fleet is also dragging anchors throughout the Baltic Sea, cutting communication cables, cutting electricity to other NATO members and members of the European Union.

I mean who's negotiating with who here? We may be negotiating with him, but I, and you know -- and listen, I'm not I'm not privy to what went on inside that room. If someone wants to point their finger at someone and say something in a photo. But I was privy to what happened in the Oval Office when Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in there.

[11:14:46]

TIBBLES: And I'm just wondering whether, if that sort of thing had to happen with President Putin, whether we would have had a different outcome yesterday. The president of the United States didn't even take any questions.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

TIBBLES: When's the last time that happened? WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, what a contrast this meeting -- contrast that

to when Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office and a real dressing down.

And now a new stage, if you will, is being set for Zelenskyy to arrive at the White House with a Monday meeting. The president saying he's encouraging now a trilateral meeting looking for a peace deal as well.

What do you suppose this sets -- truly sets the stage for? Is Zelenskyy to walk into the White House feeling more confident, or is he to feel more undermined when talking about the potential destiny of his country with the United States president?

TIBBLES: Well does President Trump have a message to deliver to Zelenskyy when he comes to the White House on Monday? Is that why he's been so mum all along? Is something going on that we don't know about?

President Zelenskyy has said all along that he's not going to trade away half his country in order to have peace. I mean, what's the point of that?

The other point of it is, is that all of Europe and NATO is looking on saying, you know, what's going on here? Is he -- are they going to trade away somebody else's land in order to get a peace deal with a guy that you can't trust because -- who says he's not going to invade again?

I mean, it was discussed just a few minutes ago about how oh, well, there could be some Article Five agreement.

They're not going to let Ukraine into NATO. And of course, a lot of people can understand, including myself, why they wouldn't want to do that, because that would be a direct threat to Vladimir Putin.

But at the same time, are we going to create some mishmash of Article Five rules that if somebody takes a little bit of Ukraine, then the United States is going to -- is the United States really going to get involved in a European war, in another war? I really have my doubts.

And what's the signal that's being sent to all those other guys out there that are just waiting around, sharpening their knives, waiting to see what happens in Ukraine?

Is it going to happen in Taiwan? Is it going to happen somewhere else? You know, with all the pals, Viktor Orban in Hungary and these sorts of places. I really don't know what is going on. But as was said to me in the documentary that we worked on, "Putin's Endgame", somebody has to call Putin's bluff. That's -- that's it.

Right from the start. Somebody has to stand up to him and say, look, buddy, maybe that's what's happening in the -- in the pointed finger incident that took place in that Alaskan room.

Somebody has to say, you know what? The game is up. The jig is up. Your economy sucks. We can destroy your economy if you don't back off. It's game over. I haven't heard that from anywhere yet. WHITFIELD: Yes. Kevin Tibbles, always a pleasure talking to you. And

again, you still provoking very provocative questions. Great to see you, now twice in two weeks, after we haven't seen each other in years after having both been correspondents together at NBC News. Great to see you now in this capacity as well.

TIBBLES: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thanks, Kevin.

All right. Straight ahead, we'll take a closer look at what we did not hear, but what the world saw at the summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

A body language expert joins us next to break it all down.

And later, we're tracking Hurricane Erin as it strengthens in the Atlantic. How it could impact the East Coast.

[11:18:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

We're following breaking developments out of the Atlantic where Erin has rapidly intensified into a very strong now category four hurricane. The storm is the first major hurricane of the season and is expected to double or even triple in size by the middle of next week.

Right now, you're looking at Live Earth Cam footage of the British Virgin Islands as Erin churns forward.

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed some ports in Puerto Rico -- Saint Thomas and Saint John to all inbound vessel traffic ahead of the storm.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking Hurricane Erin. I mean, she's coming in with a bang, isn't she?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Its funny. It started at 70 miles an hour wind speed yesterday to now 155. So in a 24-hour-time span, again you're talking an incredibly large jump in those wind speeds. And that's why this storm is so dangerous.

Yes. Sustained winds -- oh, never mind -- special update, it's now a category five hurricane.

I'm sorry. These automatically update. We are now at 160. So for reference 157 is a category five hurricane. I don't -- Nick, I might need you. I don't know if it's going to move. Sometimes it messes with them, sometimes it doesn't. Gusting up to 190 miles per hour.

So again, incredibly strong hurricane. Breaking news just literally seconds ago. This is now a category five hurricane as it slides off to the west. Ok. We're good. So here you can see again the forecast maintains this

as a category five for at least the next 24 to 36 hours.

[11:24:50]

CHINCHAR: So they're anticipating that this storm is just going to be able to hold its own. It's why you've got some of these tropical storm watches and warnings in effect for some of these islands, because even though they are far away, when you have a storm this strong, the winds stem out very, very far. So you can have those impacts even if you aren't taking a direct hit from this particular storm.

The best part of this is notice the churn. This is what we like to see -- away from the island, staying out over the open water, and even then it continues its track to the north but kind of in between Bermuda and the United States.

If you're going to have a strong storm, this is where you want it to go, is in between land and not actually impacting a lot of folks here. However, further strengthening, yes is still even possible because it's going to be going into incredibly warm waters. That is fuel for these types of storms.

One thing to note, yes, as Fred mentioned earlier, look at the size. Look at how this thing starts to expand. So yes, the National Hurricane Center says it is not out of the question for this to double or even triple in size over the next several days.

Here's why that's important. The larger it is, the farther away you can be from the storm and still feel impacts. So as it gets bigger, all of these entities up and down the U.S. East Coast are likely going to see very dangerous high surf and very dangerous rip currents.

So if you have some plans to go to the beach, maybe tomorrow or even the next couple of days, some schools are not yet back in session. Lots of folks want to hit the beach for the last time before school begins. Please be careful.

I'm sure a lot of these beaches have those flags out. You know, Fred, that we talk about on those beaches to kind of alert people. But please, please, please be very cautious of that. Even though the storm is well away from shore, you will still have some dangerous rip currents.

WHITFIELD: We know lots of things can happen. You know, slight turns, little adjustments in the path could make a big difference in everything.

All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up next, what we can learn from the Trump-Putin summit through their body language before and after their private discussion.

[11:26:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Let's analyze all this now, right. Smiles, hand pats, postures and a pat on the back even -- what does it all mean? There was a lot to take note of in the body language between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Friday's Alaska summit. Those nonverbal cues from the two leaders.

Here with us now to help break it all down, body language expert Mary Civiello. Mary, great to see you. Sometimes --

(CROSSTALK)

MARY CIVIELLO, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: Hi, Fredricka. Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: -- so much -- wonderful. So much is said sometimes non- verbally. So that's why we have you here. So, you know, a lot of analysts agree that Putin came into this with a great advantage, an invitation to U.S. soil without concessions. The two presidents, you know, meeting on the red carpet that was rolled out, applause even from President Trump, handshakes even, Trump patting the back of the Russian president's hand.

So in that sequence, what did you see?

CIVIELLO: I saw two guys that were coming together, hadn't seen you for a little while, good to see you. It was all, you know, all systems go, couldn't be friendlier on both sides. Trump, the gracious host. Putin, thrilled to be here.

WHITFIELD: And then, as you see here, they're walking on the red carpet. Eventually they kind of saunter off to Trump's limo called "The Beast".

Putin actually smiling, looking very joyful right there in the back seat, almost like making sure to the cameras, you see me here, right?

What do you see there?

CIVIELLO: Oh, yes. I mean, he could -- he, from the get go and in fact throughout he just felt -- looked as though it was -- this is a, this is fantastic.

And it is especially pronounced, you know, you really notice it if you think back to Helsinki. Fredricka, remember 2018, the last time they met, you know, Putin was kind of slouched, you know, in the after thing. And he just kind of like --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Right. Almost like, I don't really want to be here.

CIVIELLO: -- boring diplomatic relationship. Yes. So he, he and this time he was like in a candy store. A little guy in a candy -- and like, this is fantastic. WHITFIELD: Interesting. So did you see in him kind of surprised that

even, you know, as the general public -- a lot of Americans expressed their surprise at seeing this kind of roll out. Do you feel like Putin was exhibiting surprise or more so, like, yes, of course this would happen. I'm president.

I mean, how do we interpret that?

CIVIELLO: I think that Putin looks like and in fact the -- all the facts suggest that this was already a win, you know, arriving there and then the fanfare and so forth that you see right there, the red carpet. I mean he couldn't have asked for a better greeting. And honestly, the outcome, you know, it just this is just a big win for Putin.

I think the biggest contrast, Fredricka, was the before and after. So when you look at there, this is all systems go. Everybody ready. You know, two leaders that are ready to get some work done. That's the way the body language looked.

The afterwards was so much more pronounced with Trump.

WHITFIELD: In what way?

CIVIELLO: If you look at the two -- well, if you look at the two of them, at the, at the podiums, at their separate podiums, Trump was just much more subdued.

[11:34:47]

CIVIELLO: He was, as Putin, you know, deferred as the host. He defers to Putin. Let Putin start out. Putin goes into, you know, Alaska history and being neighbors and neighborly and all of that.

And you've seen people at a -- at a conference table. And when somebody else is talking, not saying anything particularly interesting or anything that you really like. And Trump 90 percent of the time, was sitting there at the -- standing there at the podium, looking out into the audience, kind of yes, bracing.

WHITFIELD: Ok.

CIVIELLO: And it didn't move the needle until certain points.

WHITFIELD: And then fast forward from that moment at the end of the press conference, Putin seems to surprise Trump. That's my interpretation, but I'd love to hear yours. He seemed to surprise Trump by speaking in English, and then saying, "next time, Moscow". Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Again. Mr. President, I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon. Thank you very much, Vladimir.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: Next time in Moscow.

TRUMP: Oh, that's an interesting one. I don't know. I'll get a little heat on that one, but I -- I could see it possibly happening. Thank you very much, Vladimir. And thank you all. Thank you. Thank you.

PUTIN: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ok. What did you read there?

CIVIELLO: Oh. That's interesting. I can get in a lot trouble on this one. Not sure what I think about that. I mean, Trump handled it very, very well. It was, you know, you know, no commitment there.

But Putin certainly was ready with that. He had planned that, you know he had. And yes, that was so he got a little reaction there. That's where Trump engaged with him, had eye contact.

But the vast majority of the time that Putin was speaking, he did nothing but stare out. The only time he would do a torso turn. Every once in a while he would kind of do one of these like that. And it kind of like.

WHITFIELD: I got to have you on here more. This is just so enjoyable.

CIVIELLO: Turn back. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Ok. Mary Civiello.

CIVIELLO: It wasn't working the way he wanted it.

WHITFIELD: No, it wasn't.

CIVIELLO: Who knows about next time?

WHITFIELD: That's right. Ok. We'll have you back because there may be more meetings. Who knows if it's going to be involving Putin. But we do know there's one involving Zelenskyy on Monday.

Mary Civiello, good to see you. Thank you so much.

CIVIELLO: Good to see you, Fredricka. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back.

[11:37:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. In the shadow of the summit between President Trump and Vladimir Putin, are the people on the battle lines. After three years spent in Russian captivity, one Ukrainian soldier is now back home.

Juan Alberto Leyva Garsiya was among the 33 soldiers and 51 civilians who were freed in a recent prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia that was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

And now his family is speaking out about the harsh conditions that he endured.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is here with details on this. What did you learn about his imprisonment?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been incredible to have known this family for so long and the harsh conditions that he endured. But as you can imagine, they're elated right now, Fred.

I have known the family of the Ukrainian soldier for about three years. When we originally reported he was part of a group of soldiers who surrendered after being surrounded by Russians in Mariupol, that's in eastern Ukraine.

The family called me Thursday to give me the good news that for the first time since May 2022, their son was back home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: His head is fully shaved and he looks gaunt and tired. He appears somber and serious, especially when compared to the cheerful soldiers around him.

LYUDMYLA LEYVA GARSIYA, RETURNED SOLDIER'S SISTER: He's a brave man.

ROMO: But for now, only two things matter. He's alive and for the first time in three years, he's home.

GARSIYA: He was one of those soldiers who was trying to Defend Mariupol from Russian occupation.

ROMO: His name is Juan Alberto Leyva Garsiya, the 27-year-old soldier was one of 33 Ukrainian military personnel and 51 civilians returned home by Russia Thursday as part of a prisoner swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

84 Russian servicemen were returned from Ukraine as part of the swap and were initially getting medical assistance in Belarus, according to the Russian ministry of defense.

Seen here before becoming a prisoner of war, Leyva Garsiya was one of the last fighters who surrendered to Russian forces in May, 2022.

JUAN ALBERTO LEYVA GARSIYA, FREED SOLDIER: We keep fighting every day under heavy airstrikes.

ROMO: After they were surrounded at a steel plant in the city of Mariupol.

L. GARSIYA: Russia is not following any international law.

ROMO: Since the beginning of the war. There have been over 60 exchanges, with more than 6,000 people returned, including many soldiers who were injured. But because the countries are still fighting, it's hard to know the condition of prisoners of war.

The family of Leyva Garsiya told us last month, about the only thing they knew regarding the soldier was that he was still alive.

[11:44:42]

L. GARSIYA: It's really hard to get any information about prisoners of war who are held in Russia. We could get some information from other exchange soldiers.

ROMO: Recently-released POWs told the family that Juan Alberto, who was fighting for his native Mariupol, was first sent to Olenivka (ph) in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region before being transferred to Luhansk and finally to the Perm Krai (ph) region in Russia. In a statement sent to CNN after his release, the family said that "Words cannot express our immense relief and joy at his return. While we celebrate his freedom, we remain deeply mindful of the many brave men and women who are still in captivity. And we stand in solidarity with their families as they continue to wait for their loved ones to come home."

The soldier's father, a Cuban immigrant to Ukraine, said during his captivity his hope was that his son would still remember what he taught him as a little boy, a phrase the young soldier would repeat when he was under siege in Mariupol steel plant -- "homeland and life".

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMO: And Leyva Garsiya is currently receiving medical assistance and being debriefed by Ukrainian officials at an undisclosed location. According to his sister Lyudmila, it's going to take at least a week before they can see him in person, but they have been talking on the phone and texting daily since he came back home to Ukraine.

Can you imagine that? It's just --

WHITFIELD: No, I can't. That's incredible, incredible journey. So is it his intention, I mean, I know they say undisclosed location of his medical treatment, but is it his ambition to stay in country in Ukraine? Do we know?

ROMO: We don't know at this point. What we know is that he was very committed to the cause of freedom for Ukraine.

He didn't have to be in the war. He signed up voluntarily. He was a college student. He was getting his degree in architecture. And he said, I'm not going to do this while my country is invaded by Russia. And that's how he ended up fighting on the front.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Incredible. Incredible spirit, incredible heart --

ROMO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- and passion.

All right. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, how are Russians reacting to the summit in Alaska between President Putin and President Trump? CNN takes you to Moscow next.

[11:47:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The new "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES AMERICAN PRINCE JFK JR." follows the story of John F. Kennedy Jr., following him through the early years marked by his father's assassination to his iconic love story with Carolyn Bessette.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister dives into the lasting legacy of the couple on the American fashion and culture scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carolyn.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: In a nation with no royal family, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette were prince and princess.

STEVE GILLON, BIOGRAPHER: Each of them had their own charisma and their own charm. But you put them together and it was like a multiplier effect.

WAGMEISTER: With images like these, saluting his father's casket at age three, John Jr. grew up as America's son.

GILLON: He just hated being called John-John, and he would always say, he'd mutter under his breath, you know, one John is sufficient.

WAGMEISTER: But Kennedy accepted his public life, while Bessette preferred to stay private, creating an aura of mystery and public fascination.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She married like, arguably like the most famous man in the world at that time.

CAROLE RADZIWILL, FAMILY FRIEND: She refused to bend to the will of the press.

WAGMEISTER: Carole Radziwill spent years in the couple's inner circle.

She was married to Kennedy's cousin and best friend, Anthony, whose mother, Lee Radziwill, was Jackie O's younger sister. She says Bessette was the opposite of her public image.

RADWIZILL: I think what people take away from the photos is that she sort of seems like a caged, scared person, and she just wasn't. She was very strong, very confident.

WAGMEISTER: Bessette left a job at Calvin Klein after she met Kennedy, but never actually sought the role she's still known for, fashion icon.

RADZIWILL: She didn't fuss over her fashion. She lived her life with style. Style for her was not like what she was wearing.

WAGMEISTER: Her effortless, chic style is embraced today. When fans saw early photos from an upcoming FX series on John and Carolyn, they erupted online claiming the looks appeared more fast-fashion than Bessette's classic elegance.

Producer Ryan Murphy told variety "Carolyn Bessette is clearly a religion of her own," insisting these were merely test shots.

JOHN F. KENNEDY, JR., FORMER PRESIDENTIAL SON: Ladies and gentlemen, meet George.

WAGMEISTER: In 1999, Kennedy's magazine "George" was failing. His best friend and cousin Anthony was dying of cancer, and his marriage to Carolyn was strained.

RADZIWILL: All I could say is there is no talk of divorce or breaking up. They were going to a wedding together that Friday.

WAGMEISTER: But then the world stopped as John and Carolyn's single engine plane crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. America's royal couple was gone.

RADZIWILL: She was the protector of all of us. She protected me. She was John's protector.

GILLON: Had john lived, he would have run for office.

WAGMEISTER: Just months before his death, Gillon says Kennedy spoke of what might have been, embracing his family roots and a life in politics.

[11:54:45]

GILLON: He said what people need is hope. They need to know that tomorrow is going to be bright than today. And he had this long pause and he looked at me and he said, I can do that. I think I can do that.

WAGMEISTER: Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN -- Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Elizabeth, thank you so much.

A new episode of "AMERICAN PRINCE JFK JR." premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:59:55]

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this hour with breaking news.