President Donald Trump confirmed that he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday regarding ending the war in Ukraine. He said the discussion was positive and productive, while also urging Moscow to spare the lives of the Ukrainian soldiers who are surrounded by Russian forces in Kursk, a Russian oblast that Kiev’s forces took control of in August 2024.
“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end — BUT, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN TROOPS ARE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY THE RUSSIAN MILITARY, AND IN A VERY BAD AND VULNERABLE POSITION,” Trump said Friday. “I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all!!!”
The call between the world leaders took place following Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff arriving in Moscow on Thursday to rehash a ceasefire deal which Russia did not agree to. After the revisions Thursday, Putin announced he supports a ceasefire deal.
While Thursday’s diplomatic activities culminated in a call between Trump and Putin, an in-person meeting the Russian leader had with Witkoff capped off the night’s events.
Witkoff was specifically in Moscow to deliver detailed information regarding the peace summit meeting held earlier in the week in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Ceasefire deals between Russia and Ukraine are not straightforward, as both Moscow and Kiev have a number of redlines and non-negotiable points which conflict with one another. The work of the U.S. diplomats from the Trump administration aims to devise a settlement which both nations will agree to and abide by.
While Putin supports a ceasefire, he does demand certain guarantees.
“Putin cited a system of ‘control and verification’ to monitor any truce as well as Kiev’s potential attempts to use the pause in hostilities to rearm and reinforce its troops on the front line,” RT said Friday. “He also noted the importance of clarifying the status and fate of Ukrainian troops currently encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region, where Kiev launched an incursion last year.”
While Washington and Moscow seem to feel positive about the current advancements to a codified ceasefire, in Kiev, Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky appears to be disgruntled once again. After agreeing to a previous version of a ceasefire, which Russia demanded be revised to add in its own interests, the Dictator claimed Putin is being manipulative.
“We now have all heard…Putin’s very predictable, very manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire,” Zelensky said in his nightly address, according to The Moscow Times.