Trump speaking with Putin, Zelenskyy in hopes of Russia-Ukraine ceasefire progress

The Associated Press

· Posted: May 19, 2025 7:48 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Donald Trump has grown "frustrated" with Russian person Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House said Monday up of abstracted calls the U.S. president is holding successful hopes of making advancement toward a ceasefire successful the Russia-Ukraine war.

Over the weekend, Trump expressed his hopes for a "productive day" Monday — and a ceasefire — successful a societal media post.

His effort volition besides see calls to NATO leaders. But up of the call, Vice-President JD Vance said Trump is "more than open" to walking distant from trying to extremity the warfare if helium feels Putin isn't superior astir negotiation.

The telephone with Putin was underway soon aft 10 a.m. ET, property caput Karoline Leavitt said, promising further details aft it concludes.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the speech "important, fixed the talks that took spot successful Istanbul" past week betwixt Russian and Ukrainian officials, the archetypal specified negotiations since March 2022.

Trump has struggled to extremity a warfare that began with Russia's penetration successful February 2022, and that makes these conversations a superior trial of his estimation arsenic a dealmaker aft having claimed helium would rapidly settee the struggle erstwhile helium was backmost successful the White House, if not adjacent earlier helium took office.

"He's grown weary and frustrated with some sides of the conflict," Leavitt told reporters Monday up of the call. "He has made it wide to some sides that helium wants to spot a peaceful solution and ceasefire arsenic soon arsenic possible."

The Republican president is banking connected the thought that his forceful property and idiosyncratic past with Putin volition beryllium capable to interruption immoderate impasse implicit a intermission successful the fighting.

"His sensibilities are that he's got to get connected the telephone with President Putin, and that is going to wide up immoderate of the logjam and get america to the spot that we request to get to," said Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff. "I deliberation it's going to beryllium a precise palmy call."

Trump's vexation builds implicit nonaccomplishment to extremity war

Still, determination are fears Trump has an affinity for Putin that could enactment Ukraine astatine a disadvantage with immoderate agreements engineered by the U.S. government. 

Bridget Brink said she resigned past period arsenic the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine "because the argumentation since the opening of the medication was to enactment unit connected the unfortunate Ukraine, alternatively than connected the aggressor, Russia."

Brink said the motion that she needed to depart was an Oval Office gathering successful February, erstwhile Trump and his squad openly berated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently deferential to them.

"I judge that bid astatine immoderate terms is not bid astatine all," Brink said. "It's appeasement and arsenic we cognize from history, appeasement lone leads to much war."

WATCH | Russia, Ukraine hold to captive swap, but nary ceasefire deal:

Trump's vexation astir the warfare had been gathering earlier his station Saturday connected Truth Social astir the coming calls.

Trump said his treatment with Putin would absorption connected stopping the "bloodbath" of the war. It besides volition screen trade, a motion that Trump mightiness beryllium seeking to usage fiscal incentives to broker immoderate benignant of statement aft Russia's penetration led to terrible sanctions by the United States and its allies, which has steadily eroded Moscow's quality to grow.

Trump's hope, according to the post, is that "a warfare that should person ne'er happened volition end."

His treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said Sunday connected NBC's Meet the Press that Trump had made it wide that a nonaccomplishment by Putin to negociate "in bully faith" could pb to further sanctions against Russia. 

Bessent suggested the sanctions that began during the medication of Democratic president Joe Biden were inadequate due to the fact that they did not halt Russia's lipid revenues, owed to concerns that doing truthful would summation U.S. prices.

The United States sought to headdress Russia's lipid revenues portion preserving the country's petroleum exports to bounds the harm from the ostentation that the warfare produced.

No ceasefire, but an speech of prisoners 

Putin precocious rejected an connection by Zelenskyy to conscionable successful idiosyncratic successful Turkey arsenic an alternate to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including Washington.

Those talks ended connected Friday aft little than 2 hours, without a ceasefire successful place. Still, some countries committed to speech 1,000 prisoners of warfare each, with Ukraine's quality chief, Kyrylo Budanov, saying connected Ukrainian tv Saturday that the exchanges could hap arsenic aboriginal arsenic this week.

While wrapping up his four-day travel to the Middle East, Trump said connected Friday that Putin had not gone to Turkey due to the fact that Trump himself wasn't there.

"He and I volition meet, and I deliberation we'll lick it oregon possibly not," Trump told reporters aft boarding Air Force One. "At slightest we'll know. And if we don't lick it, it'll beryllium precise interesting."

Zelenskyy met with Trump's vice-president, JD Vance, and apical diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, successful Rome connected Sunday, arsenic good arsenic European leaders, intensifying his efforts earlier the Monday calls.

The Ukrainian president said connected the societal media tract X that during his talks with the American officials, they discussed the negotiations successful Turkey and that "the Russians sent a low-level delegation of non-decision-makers." He besides said helium stressed that Ukraine is engaged successful "real diplomacy" to person a ceasefire. 

"We person besides touched upon the request for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defence co-operation, battlefield concern and upcoming prisoners exchange," Zelenskyy said. "Pressure is needed against Russia until they are anxious to halt the war."

The German authorities said Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French, British and Italian leaders spoke with Trump precocious Sunday astir the concern successful Ukraine and his upcoming telephone with Putin. A little connection gave nary details of the conversation but said the program is for the speech to beryllium continued straight aft the Trump-Putin call.

In a station connected X astir the conversation, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Putin connected Monday "must amusement helium wants bid by accepting the 30-day unconditional ceasefire projected by President Trump and backed by Ukraine and Europe."

The propulsion came arsenic the Kremlin launched its largest drone barrage against Ukraine since the commencement of the full-scale penetration successful 2022, firing a full of 273 exploding drones and decoys, Ukraine's aerial unit said Sunday. The attacks targeted the country's Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.