“I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine.”
President Donald Trump said Sunday morning that he held a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his scheduled afternoon meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump announced the call in a post on Truth Social, writing, “I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The meeting will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago. Press is invited. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT”
The president is set to meet with Zelensky later Sunday at Mar-a-Lago. The meeting comes as Russia has launched another wave of attacks on Ukraine, including more than 2,100 drones, roughly 800 guided aerial bombs, and 94 missiles, according to Ukrainian officials. On Saturday alone, Russian forces struck Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles, resulting in power outages in parts of the capital, Kyiv.
Zelensky has recently signaled a willingness to take steps toward ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Ukraine did not start this war. Russia started it,” Zelensky wrote on X on Saturday. “Ukraine supported President Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire.”
“Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war. For us, priority number one – or the only priority – is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace. We need to be strong at the negotiating table,” he added.
Putin, however, issued a warning on Saturday, saying, “If Ukraine does not want to resolve everything peacefully, Russia will resolve all its objectives by military means.”
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