In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump has announced that he initiated talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine and set the stage for significant summits in both the United States and Moscow.
The declaration was made by Trump in a detailed post on his Truth Social platform, emphasizing his belief that ‘the war must end.’ Their discussion lasted for an impressive 90 minutes during their phone call on Wednesday.
He also said the two leaders agreed they will visit each other’s countries soon.
‘We are determined to halt the countless casualties occurring as a result of the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even referenced my powerful Campaign slogan, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ This is a principle that we both strongly uphold. We have committed to working closely together, which includes potential visits to each other’s countries,’ wrote Trump.
The president said his next call is with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Â
‘We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,’ Trump noted.
It was the latest announcement from the Trump administration that will send shockwaves around the world. Earlier Wednesday, the administration said it was ending all American aid to Ukraine – a blow to Zelensky, who is struggling to hold his nation together. Trump’s pronouncements also put pressure on Western Allies who have been a bastion of support for Kyiv.Â
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet in Helsinki in July 2018
Trump vowed to end the war.Â
‘Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end. No more lives should be lost!,’ he said.
Trump and Putin spoke for nearly an hour and a half and agreed to meet, the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.
It was Putin’s first known direct contact with a U.S. president since February 2022.Â
‘President Putin…agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peaceful negotiations,’ the Kremlin said.
The call followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention.
Trump welcomed Fogel at the White House Tuesday evening after his return to U.S. soil.Â
‘! I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House. I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!,’ Trump said in his Truth Social post.Â
Alexander Vinnik, a convicted Russian criminal, also is being freed as part of a swap.
Vinnik was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, officials told the Associated Press. Â
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in Kyiv
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the start of the Ukraine Defense Contact group meeting at NATO headquarters
The call between Trump and Putin took place as the administration announced that America will no longer front the lion’s share of aid to Ukraine. The decision is a devastating blow to Kyiv and will pile pressure on Europe to fill the void.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Washington will ‘no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship’ with its allies, adding that ‘Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine’.
He stressed that the United States was no longer ‘primarily focused’ on Europe, and said that the old continent would have to fund most of Ukraine’s defense itself – as experts warned the demands on Europe were ‘unachievable at this time’.
In a boon for Putin, Hegseth added that the United States would not deploy troops to Ukraine to uphold any peace deal with Russia – one of the key security guarantees requested by Zelensky.
Hegseth also said that it was implausible for Ukraine to expect to return to a pre-war state, assessing that any peace process ‘must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective’.
‘The United States remains committed to the NATO alliance and to the defence partnership with Europe, full stop,’ he said. ‘But the United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.’
Washington’s allies have been waiting nervously for clarity from Trump’s administration after the he demanded that NATO more than double its defence spending target and vowed to end the war in Ukraine.
Hegseth’s comments will compound Ukrainian fears and hand leverage to Russia, after Trump suggested the country ‘may be Russian someday’ in unsettling comments during an interview with Fox News, aired Monday.
Neighbours walk past a damaged building after a Russian shelling in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka on February 10, 2025
Russia says it has annexed five regions of Ukraine – Crimea in 2014 and then Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia in 2022 – though it does not have full control over them.
Putin said last year that a deal would hinge upon Ukraine’s recognition of Russia’s claim to four regions in its east and south, including areas not currently controlled by Russia.Â
Zelensky has rejected any territorial concessions to Moscow, though he has acknowledged that Ukraine might have to rely on diplomatic means to secure the return of some territory.
