London – President Donald Trump is expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin at approximately 10 am on Monday, when the White House continues to pay him to end the 3 -year -old Moscow invasion of Ukraine after peace talks last week in Istanbul, Turkey.
“The issues of the invitation will be to stop the” bloodbath “, which is killed, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers per week, and trade,” Trump wrote on a site on his social site on Saturday.
“I will then talk to President Zelinski from Ukraine and after that, with President Zelinski, various NATO members,” Trump added.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters on Monday that the invitation will be held at 5 pm Moscow time-10 am Eastern time-the state-run TASS TASS agency.
The direct contact with Putin – the last known phone call to the audience between the presidents in February – was renewed after Trump’s hopes of peace talks in Istanbul were submitted, and Putin refused to attend despite Ukrainian President Voludimir Zelinski’s invitation to do so.
Istanbul’s talks have been the first known meeting between Moscow and Kiev representatives since the spring of 2022, when the Turkish city hosted the last round of unlawful peace negotiations to end the invasion of Russia, which is revealed.
Once it became clear that Putin will not attend, Trump told the peace voltage correspondents, “Nothing will happen even Putin and meet, well?”
This photo shows President Donald Trump on May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 10, 2025.
AP
“It is clear that he did not go,” Trump added. “He would have gone, but I thought I was going to go. It wasn’t if I wasn’t there. I don’t think anything would happen, whether you like it or not, until he met, but we have to solve it, because many people die.”
Trump’s repeated threats of more sanctions against Russia have failed to return any marked transformation in the Moscow war targets – which, according to public statements by officials, still include the waiver of Ukraine to four regions – which the Russian forces are not fully controlled – in addition to the obstacle of the Crimea Peninsula on NATO.
Putin said on Sunday that any peace agreement with Ukraine must “eliminate the reasons that sparked this crisis” and “ensuring Russia’s security.”
KYIV and its European supporters are still pressing for a fully ceasefire for 30 days, and during that time they say peace negotiations can occur. Moscow has so far refused to support the proposal, indicating that all Western military aid to Ukraine should stop as part of any ceasefire.
Communications between the United States and Russian and Ukrainian officials continued after the end of the talks in Istanbul. On Saturday, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tami Bruce said that Rubio welcomed the agreement of the prisoner’s exchange during the Istanbul meeting and confirmed Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire.
Vice Vice President JD Vance also met with Zelinski in the Vatican on Saturday, after Pope Liu presented the fourteenth meeting to host a bilateral meeting.
After the meeting, Zelenskyy wrote on X that he “reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to engage in real diplomacy and stressed the importance of full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible.”
“We also touched on the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, the battlefield and the exchange of the next prisoners,” Zellinski continued. “There is a need for pressure against Russia to eager to stop the war.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on Monday on X that the Istanbul meeting highlighted a “flagrant difference” between Moscow and Kiev. “Ukraine is aspiring and focuses on a full and immediate ceasefire to start the real peace process. On the contrary, Russia is completely focused on the past, refused the ceasefire, and instead it is constantly talking about Istanbul 2022 meetings, while trying to provide the same spring requirements three years ago.”
“This is another reason to increase pressure on Russia,” he added. “Moscow must now understand the consequences of disabilities of the peace process.”
Meanwhile, long -term strikes continued on both sides. On Sunday night to Monday morning, Ukraine Air Force said that Russia fired 112 drones in the country, 76 of which were dropped. The damage was reported in five regions of Ukraine.
On Monday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces had shot down 35 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukrainian soldier holds a mortar shell at the front line site in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on May 16, 2025.
Sofia Gatilova/Reuters
