Trump says he will talk to Putin on Monday, over the Russia-Ukraine war

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, May 17, 2025, announced plans to hold a series of critical phone calls on Monday with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine, as well as NATO allies.

This is supposedly to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, which he referred to as a “bloodbath.”

Trump made the announcement on his platform, Truth Social, on Saturday, expressing hope for a breakthrough: “HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END.”

Trump’s comments came just hours after high-level talks between Moscow and Kyiv, held in Istanbul.

This was their first direct negotiations in years.

However, it ended without any agreement on a ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had proposed a face-to-face meeting with the President of Russia Vlodomyr Putin in Turkey, but Putin declined.

Putin had reportedly offered instead to continue negotiations in Istanbul “without preconditions.”

Ukraine, backed by its Western allies including the U.S., has been calling for a “full and unconditional” ceasefire.

Amid the diplomatic stalemate, violence continued.

Early Saturday, a Russian drone strike hit a civilian evacuation bus in Bilopillia, a town in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, killing nine people.

Ukrainian officials stated the bus was evacuating residents from a front-line area when it was targeted.

Local governor Oleh Hryhorov reported seven additional injuries, three of them critical.

The Ukrainian National Police confirmed the incident, although the Associated Press was unable to independently verify the details.

Russia has not yet commented on the attack.

President Zelenskyy condemned the strike as a “deliberate killing of civilians.”

He asserted that “Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting.”

Local media outlet Suspilne reported that most of the victims were elderly women.

Authorities have declared a period of mourning in Bilopillia through Monday.

Zelenskyy also voiced frustration over the failed peace talks, reiterating Ukraine’s long-standing call for a complete and unconditional ceasefire.

“Russia only retains the ability to continue killing,” he said.

International condemnation of the drone attack quickly followed.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed his outrage on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “If Putin is serious about peace, Russia must agree to a full and immediate ceasefire, as Ukraine has done.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces had struck a military target in the Sumy region, about 50 kilometers southeast of Bilopillia.

However, it did not address the civilian bus strike.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, Ukrainian troops have been making limited advances into Russia’s Kursk region, situated north of Bilopillia.

Russia previously declared in May that it had regained full control of the region, following Ukraine’s surprise offensive last year.

This was reportedly during which over 100 settlements were briefly recaptured by Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials, however, maintain that fighting in Kursk continues.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian attacks on Friday and overnight left at least five civilians dead in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russian forces launched 62 drones overnight, of which 36 were shot down and six went off course.

Although the Istanbul talks ended without a ceasefire, both delegations agreed to a significant exchange of prisoners of war, 1,000 each.

Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, stated the swap could take place as soon as next week.

This would mark the largest prisoner exchange between the two sides so far.

However, Russia continues to resist Western-backed proposals for a temporary ceasefire as a pathway toward broader peace.

Zelenskyy said he discussed the Istanbul talks with Trump, and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain, and Poland.

Speaking from a European summit in Albania, he urged stronger sanctions on Moscow if it refuses to commit to a ceasefire and end the violence.

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, confirmed both sides had agreed to exchange detailed ceasefire proposals.

Ukraine has requested a summit between the two presidents, which Russia is currently considering.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov left open the possibility of direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy, contingent on the successful execution of the prisoner exchange and further agreements.

He added that Russia would present Ukraine with a list of conditions for a ceasefire but offered no timeline or specifics regarding what would be required for a Zelenskyy-Putin meeting.

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