US President Donald Trump pleaded with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines following what he called “very good and productive” ceasefire talks in Moscow.
Trump’s remarks followed his special envoy’s meetings with Putin in Moscow to go over the specifics of a 30-day ceasefire proposal between Russia and Ukraine after three years of conflict.
“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,” Trump stated on his Truth Social network.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified to reporters that Trump himself had not spoken to Putin on Thursday night. She said no call was scheduled for Friday, “but that could change.”
Trump said last week that, aside from the formally reported call in February that sparked the current ceasefire effort, he has spoken with Putin “numerous” times since taking office again.
Credit: AFP PHOTO / SPUTNIK / Mikhail KLIMENTYEV
Trump also made an extraordinary plea to Putin in his post on Friday, claiming that “thousands” of Ukrainian troops were “surrounded by the Russian military and in a very bad and vulnerable position.”
Kyiv promptly refuted Trump’s assertion.
“I have made a strong plea to President Putin to spare their lives. There hasn’t been a massacre like this since World War II. May God bless them all!” Trump wrote.
Moscow has in the past week been driving much of Ukraine’s forces out of Russia’s Kursk region, parts of which Kyiv occupied last year.
Kursk was one of Kyiv’s few bargaining chips in swapping land with Russia, which has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine since it took Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia said earlier Friday that Putin had sent “additional” signals to Trump about a ceasefire, adding it was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect of a deal.
US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin late Thursday to lay out the details of the joint US-Ukrainian plan.
The Kremlin said both sides agreed that a “conversation is needed” between Trump and Putin but that the timing was yet to be determined.
With Russia controlling around a quarter of Ukraine since capturing Crimea in 2014 and launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kursk was one of Kyiv’s last negotiating tools in the land trade.
Russia said earlier Friday that it was “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of a settlement and that Putin had given Trump “additional” signals regarding a truce.
Steve Witkoff, the US ambassador, met with Putin late Thursday to discuss the specifics of the joint US-Ukrainian plan.
Both sides agreed that Trump and Putin need to have a “conversation,” but the exact moment was still up in the air, according to the Kremlin.
