Trump announces meeting with Putin as he pledges to end Ukraine war

Donald Trump says he'll speak with Putin on Monday to stop the Ukraine

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Donald Trump has announced he will hold a high-stakes call with Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss ending the 'bloodbath' in Ukraine – as the brutal war continues to claim thousands of lives every week.

In a dramatic all-caps post on his Truth Social platform, the former U.S. president revealed the call would center on 'stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russians and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.'

Trump, 78, added he would follow the Putin call with conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and 'various leaders of NATO.'

'Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should never have happened, will end,' he wrote.

The surprise announcement comes just after Russian and Ukrainian officials met for their first in-person talks in three years. 

The meeting, which lasted under two hours, failed to yield a ceasefire – but did result in both sides agreeing to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.

Sources say Moscow's negotiators demanded Ukraine withdraw troops from all territories Russia claims as its own – including areas still fiercely contested on the battlefield.

Trump says he'll call Putin on MONDAY to stop the Ukraine 'bloodbath' as over 5,000 soldiers die weekly – and promises to speak to Zelensky and NATO leaders next

Trump, 78, said he would follow the Putin call with conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and 'various leaders of NATO'

In a dramatic all-caps post on his Truth Social platform, the former U.S. president revealed the call would center on 'stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russians and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.'

A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters the Kremlin's list of demands went far beyond the terms of a recent U.S.-drafted peace proposal, which Washington floated after backchannel discussions with Moscow.

Among Russia's conditions: a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia; international recognition of those territories, along with Crimea, as Russian; a pledge of Ukrainian neutrality; and an agreement that no foreign troops or weapons of mass destruction be stationed on Ukrainian soil.

Moscow also wants all parties to abandon any claims to war reparations — a sharp contrast with the U.S. proposal, which called for compensation to be paid to Ukraine.

The peace summit in Istanbul was overshadowed by Vladimir Putin's absence. Instead of attending personally, the Russian leader sent a delegation led by his former culture minister.

The surprise announcement comes just after Russian and Ukrainian officials met for their first in-person talks in three years

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed Putin would only meet with Zelensky if certain preconditions were met — namely a ceasefire framework and the successful completion of the POW exchange.

'Such a meeting, as a result of the work of the delegations of the two sides, upon reaching certain agreements between these delegations, is possible. [We] consider it possible,' Peskov told reporters on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Trump doubled down on his confidence that he could bring an end to the war, pointing to his personal relationship with Putin.

'I have a very good relationship with Putin. I think we'll make a deal,' Trump said during an interview with Fox News in Abu Dhabi. 'We have to get together, and I think we'll probably schedule it up.'

He added: 'I'm tired of having other people go and meet and everything else. Nobody uses leverage better than me.'

When asked whether he would pressure Putin into making a deal, Trump responded: 'I will, if we're not going to make a deal. We'll see what happens — that will be crushing for Russia.'  

Zelensky will hold the call with Trump the day after attending Pope Leo's inaugural mass at the Vatican on Sunday - a return to the scene where he sat with Trump before former Pope Francis' funeral on April 26 (pictured) 

Zelensky's call with Putin is expected to take place the day after he attends Pope Leo's inaugural Mass at the Vatican on May 18, the Holy See confirmed.

The ceremony, which will be held in St Peter's Square in Rome, marks the formal beginning of Pope Leo's papacy as the spiritual leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. 

Trump has now said if he is making the trip, but Zelensky will be joined at the Mass by a U.S. delegation that includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance — the latter of whom previously clashed with Zelensky during a fiery Oval Office confrontation in February.

Despite the renewed push for diplomacy, violence has continued unabated across Ukraine.

Just hours after the Istanbul talks ended, Zelensky accused Russia of the 'deliberate killing of civilians' following a deadly drone strike that destroyed a minibus in Sumy, killing nine and wounding four.

Russian forces also claimed to have captured the village of Oleksandropil in the embattled Donetsk region on Saturday, while shelling in Kherson left two civilians dead and 13 injured — including those aboard a truck delivering humanitarian aid.

In Kharkiv, two more people were killed and at least 12 wounded following overnight airstrikes near the Russian border.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone Saturday, praising Washington's 'positive role' in reigniting dialogue and agreeing to keep the lines of communication open.

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