President Donald Trump has announced that he will hold a high-stakes phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, in a bid to find a way to end the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to claim thousands of lives each week.
In a bold, all-caps message posted on his Truth Social account, the U.S. president said the discussion would focus on stopping the "bloodbath" that is reportedly claiming the lives of over 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers every week, as well as addressing trade matters. Trump, 78, also said that after speaking with Putin, he plans to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other NATO leaders.
Trump Wants End of Ukraine-Russia War
"HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED, WILL END," Trump wrote in all caps.
The surprise announcement comes a day after the first face-to-face discussions between Russian and Ukrainian representatives took place in three years. Although the meeting lasted less than two hours and failed to yield a ceasefire, both countries did agree on the exchange of 1,000 prisoners of war.
According to sources, the Russian delegation insisted that Ukraine withdraw its forces from all regions that Moscow considers part of its territory—even those still under heavy fighting.
A top Ukrainian official told Reuters that the demands from the Kremlin went far beyond what was included in a recent peace plan drafted by the United States, which had been proposed after backchannel discussions with Russia.
According to the source, Moscow insisted on several key conditions: Ukraine must fully withdraw its troops out of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia; those regions—along with Crimea—must be officially recognized as part of Russia; Ukraine must commit to remaining neutral; and it must agree to keep foreign troops and weapons of mass destruction off its territory.
Additionally, Russia is demanding that all sides to abandon any pursuit of war-related compensation, which contrasts sharply with the U.S. peace plan that suggested Ukraine should receive reparations.
Not a Peaceful Solution
The peace summit in Istanbul was marked by the noticeable absence of Putin, who chose not to appear in person. Instead, he sent a delegation headed by his former minister of culture.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later said that Putin would agree to meet with Zelensky only if certain preconditions were met—primarily the framework of a ceasefire agreement and the successful execution of the prisoner-of-war exchange.
"Such a meeting, as a result of the work of the delegations of the two sides, upon reaching certain agreements between these delegations, is possible. [We] consider it possible," Peskov told reporters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Trump reaffirmed his belief that he could bring an end to the war, citing his personal rapport with Putin as a key advantage. "I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal," Trump said during an interview with Fox News in Abu Dhabi.
"We have to get together, and I think we'll probably schedule it up. I'm tired of having other people go and meet and everything else. Nobody uses leverage better than me."
