US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for two hours on the phone yesterday. It’s the third known time the two leaders spoke since Trump was inaugurated in January and comes as he has grown increasingly frustrated with the Russian president’s refusal to strike a peace deal with Ukraine.
Before talking to Putin, Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Here’s what we know about developments after the Trump-Putin call:
What Putin said: The Russian president said the conversation with Trump was “frank and substantive,” and thanked him for US support in “resuming the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine,” according to Russia state news agency TASS. Putin also said Trump “expressed his position on the secession of hostilities, ceasefire, and from my end, I have emphasized that Russia stands for peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis. We just need to outline the most effective routes of moving towards peace.” The two leaders did not discuss a timeframe for talks, a Kremlin spokesperson said.
What Trump said: “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump announced on Truth Social after his call. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.” Trump also said that the “tone and spirit” of his conversation with Putin “were excellent,” and that “Russia wants to do largescale TRADE” with the US when the war is over.
Trump informs allies: Trump also said on Truth Social that after his call with Putin ended, he immediately informed the following leaders about the contents of the call after it ended: Zelensky, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
How Zelensky responded: Zelensky called for further sanctions on the Russian banking and energy sectors. He said a future location for a next round of talks — which would be aimed first at achieving a ceasefire — would be discussed. Zelensky also said Ukraine will not withdraw any of its troops from Russian-held regions of its country. Zelensky also said Russia was “trying to buy time” in negotiations in order to continue its war, after the call between Trump and Putin failed to extract concessions from the Russian leader.
US-Russia prisoner swap: Putin and Trump also discussed a US-Russia prisoner swap, involving nine people for nine others, Kremlin presidential aide Yury Ushakov said.
On the ground: Ukraine and Russia accused each other of launching attack drones on one another overnight, hours after Putin spoke by phone with Trump.
