Trump, Putin to discuss Russia-Ukraine war on Tuesday

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 7:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

The Kremlin confirmed connected Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would speech to U.S. President Donald Trump by telephone connected Tuesday.

"We privation to spot if we tin bring that warfare to an end," Trump told reporters connected Air Force One during a formation backmost to the Washington country from Florida connected Sunday night. "Maybe we can, possibly we can't, but I deliberation we person a precise bully chance."

Asked astir the planned call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed it was planned for Tuesday.

Trump connected the statesmanlike level said determination had been affirmative talks betwixt Steve Witkoff, his peculiar envoy, and Putin successful Moscow.

Trump is trying to triumph Putin's enactment for a 30-day ceasefire connection that Ukraine accepted past week, arsenic some sides continued trading dense aerial strikes done the play and Russia moved person to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their months-old foothold successful the occidental Russian portion of Kursk.

When asked astir what concessions are being considered successful ceasefire negotiations, Trump said: "We'll beryllium talking astir land. We'll beryllium talking astir powerfulness plants … We're already talking astir that, dividing up definite assets."

Trump did not elaborate but was astir apt referring to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia installation successful Ukraine, Europe's largest atomic plant. Russia and Ukraine person accused each different of risking an mishap astatine the works with their actions.

When asked astir those remarks, the Kremlin said it did not deliberation it due to remark connected upcoming discussions betwixt 2 presidents.

Territory, information guarantees among the issues

In abstracted appearances connected Sunday TV shows successful the United States, Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump's nationalist information adviser Mike Waltz emphasized that determination were inactive challenges to beryllium worked retired earlier Russia agrees to a ceasefire, overmuch little a last peaceful solution to the war.

Asked connected ABC whether the U.S. would judge a bid woody successful which Russia was allowed to support stretches of eastbound Ukraine that it has seized, Waltz replied, "Are we going to thrust each Russian disconnected of each inch of Ukrainian soil?" He added that the negotiations had to beryllium grounded successful "reality."

WATCH l Ukraine's ambassador to Canada tells CBC News state wants ceasefire:

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has consistently said the sovereignty of his state is not negotiable and that Russia indispensable surrender the territory it has seized. Russia seized the Crimea peninsula successful 2014 and present controls astir of 4 eastbound Ukrainian regions since it invaded the state successful 2022.

Russia volition question "ironclad" guarantees successful immoderate bid woody that NATO nations exclude Kyiv from rank and that Ukraine volition stay neutral, a Russian lawman overseas curate said successful remarks published connected Monday.

In an interrogation with the Russian media outlet Izvestia that made nary notation to the ceasefire proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that immoderate long-lasting bid pact connected Ukraine indispensable conscionable Moscow's demands.

"We volition request that ironclad information guarantees go portion of this agreement," Izvestia cited Grushko arsenic saying.

"Part of these guarantees should beryllium the neutral presumption of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to judge it into the alliance."

Ukraine says Russia launches much than 170 drones

Putin has said his subject incursion into Ukraine was due to the fact that NATO's creeping enlargement threatened Russia's security. He has demanded that Ukraine driblet its NATO ambitions, that Russia keeps power of each Ukrainian territory seized, and that the size of the Ukrainian service beryllium limited. He besides wants Western sanctions eased and a statesmanlike predetermination successful Ukraine, which Kyiv says is premature portion martial instrumentality is successful force.

The European Union's overseas argumentation chief, Kaja Kallas, said connected Monday that the conditions demanded by Russia to hold to a ceasefire showed that Moscow does not truly privation peace.

Trump, who has upended American argumentation by shifting person to Moscow, amazed European allies past period by revealing that helium spoke to Putin by telephone and was sending diplomats to conscionable with Russian counterparts successful Saudi Arabia, to the exclusion of Ukrainian officials.

Days later, helium and U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance berated Zelenskyy successful an Oval Office gathering successful Washington past period that ended with the Ukrainian person leaving the White House early.

In caller warring Monday, Ukraine's aerial defence units changeable down 90 of 174 drones launched by Russia successful an overnight onslaught connected Monday, the Ukrainian aerial unit said.

It said 70 drones were lost, referring to the Ukrainian subject utilizing physics warfare to redirect them.

"Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions were affected by the Russian attack," the subject said connected the Telegram messenger app.

One civilian was injured during the attack, which damaged a kindergarten, a backstage residential house, a store and a rider car, Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said connected Telegram.