US President Donald Trump called President Volodymyr Zelensky before talking to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday, reports claim.
The phone call was unexpected as Trump was scheduled to have a call with Putin at 5 p.m., then with Zelensky and Western leaders later.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
CNN, citing “the Ukrainian presidency,” said the Zelensky-Trump call took place shortly after 5 p.m. with no further elaboration.
Local outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing the press service, confirmed the call took place.
The duration and content of the call remain unclear.
Trump and Putin’s phone call started at around 5:39 p.m. Kyiv time.
The phone calls followed the Istanbul negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow on Friday – their first in over three years.
On Friday, the parties failed to agree on a ceasefire but agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.
The Trump-Putin call is expected to be a follow-up after the talks, where the ceasefire – endorsed by Kyiv and the West, including Washington – is expected to be the key agenda, over which Trump is expected to try and either entice or pressure Putin into compliance.
Trump said prior to the call that he hopes that “a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war... will end.”
On Sunday, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy held a joint phone call with Trump and voiced their desire for the West to step up pressure on Moscow.
Decoding Putin
“Looking ahead to President Trump’s call with President Putin tomorrow, the leaders discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously,” said a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
