‘The War Must End’ – Zelensky Talks to Trump, Confirms US Position After Witkoff-Putin Meeting

President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, during which the White House reiterated its position that the war “must end.”

The call came shortly after Russia envoy Steve Witkoff held a three-hour meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier in the day, ahead of Trump’s Aug. 8 deadline for progress towards peace.

“Our joint position with our partners is absolutely clear – the war must end. And it must be done honestly,” Zelensky posted on X.

With just two days left before Trump’s self-imposed deadline, he announced new 25% tariffs on one of Russia’s largest trading partners – India – as a penalty for continuing business with the Kremlin’s sanctioned oil industry. 

The ramped-up international pressure on Russia and its economic allies has come as a welcome sign of support in Ukraine, which has faced a rising number of attacks across the country in recent months.

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“Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. We all need a lasting and reliable peace,” Zelensky wrote. “Russia must end the war that it itself started.”

He also thanked the European partners who were also part of the conversation. 

“European leaders were on the call, and I am grateful to each of them for their support,” he wrote. “We discussed what was spelled out in Moscow.”

When asked on Monday whether there was anything Russia could do to avoid the looming sanctions, Trump told reporters: “We’ve got to get to a deal where people stop getting killed.”

“You know, they’re wily characters and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions,” he added about the Kremlin. “So we’ll see what happens.”

Witkoff’s Moscow visit comes days after Trump wrote on TruthSocial that two US nuclear submarines had been deployed “to the region” following a testy online exchange with Kremlin insider Dmitry Medvedev.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences,” Trump said Friday. “I hope this will not be one of those instances.”

Last week, Trump criticized Russia’s “dead” economy and threatened consequences for continuing its war in Ukraine as American officials confirmed the Trump-imposed Aug. 8 deadline for the Kremlin to make progress towards peace negotiations.

“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” he wrote on Thursday. “Russia and the USA do almost no business together.”

“Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” he added.

Medvedev appeared to take the message as a provocation in his response later that day. “About the ‘dead economy’ of India and Russia and the ‘entering dangerous territory,’” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

“Well, let him remember his favorite movies about ‘the walking dead,’ as well as how dangerous the non-existent in nature ‘dead hand’ can be,” he warned.