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Trump says ‘hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war … will end‘
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Donald Trump says that “a ceasefire will take place” as he announced plans to speak with Vladimir Putin on Monday, followed by phone calls to Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato leaders.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: “The subjects of the call will be stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.”
Mr Trump, who has made ending the war a priority, and expressed frustration with both Mr Zelensky and – to a lesser degree – Mr Putin, added: “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. God bless us all!!”
His announcement came after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years ended in Istanbul on Friday with no breakthrough, save for a 1,000-strong prisoner swap, which is similar in size to several such exchanges so far this year.
Mr Putin snubbed the talks after a challenge by Mr Zelensky to attend, while Kyiv sources claimed Russian used the meeting to demand Kyiv give up swathes of its territory well beyond the current front lines.
Less than a day after the brief talks ended, nine people were killed when a Russian drone struck a passenger bus in north-eastern Ukraine.
A person was killed and eight were injured in the Russian military’s strike in Donetsk Oblast, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.
A drone strike on Saturday morning hit Yablunivka settlement, as well as Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Andriivka areas.
A 27-year-old woman was killed in the drone strike in Yablunivka.
A drone also struck a civilian car in Andriivka, injuring five people, including one minor.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday night, US president Donald Trump said he would speak to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on Monday to “stop the bloodbath” that is killing thousands of people each week.
It was after talks between the two sides failed to yield significant results that a Ukrainian official said Moscow’s negotiators had voiced new demands before a ceasefire could be agreed.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that preparations were underway for a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr Trump.
“I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE “BLOODBATH” THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE,” Mr Trump said in a Saturday post on Truth Social
“I WILL THEN BE SPEAKING TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY OF UKRAINE AND THEN, WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, VARIOUS MEMBERS OF NATO.
“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. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!”
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney on Saturday reaffirmed the country’s support for Ukraine in his first face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky since winning the election.
„Canadian people will stand in steadfast and unwavering support … we underscore that there can be no peace without the full support and participation of Ukraine, and that you have our absolute support,“ Mr Carney told Mr Zelensky.
The leaders met while in Rome to attend the inaugural mass of newly elected Pope Leo on Sunday at the Vatican.
Mr Carney also met other world leaders, including his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, president of Italy Sergio Mattarella and European commission president Ursula von de Leyen ahead of the G7 summit in Canada in June.
Speaking a day before before announcing his upcoming call with Vladimir Putin on Monday and expressing hopes of a ceasefire thereafter, the US president had warned that “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together”.
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv was under a sustained Russian drone attack early on Sunday, Ukraine’s military said.
More than four hours after the air force issued air raid alerts at midnight for Kyiv and most of eastern Ukraine, tens of drones were still in Ukrainian skies and threatening Kyiv and other parts of the country, the air force posted on the Telegram messaging app.
Several blasts were heard in and around Kyiv that sounded like air defence units in operation, witnesses said.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had targeted a Ukrainian military equipment staging area in the Sumy region, according to state news agency Tass.
Ukrainian officials said nine people were killed after a drone strike hit a bus, with seven others wounded.
The attack happened after a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey on Friday failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. It was the first direct dialogue between the two sides since the early months of the war that Russia launched in February 2022.
Passengers on a bus fatally struck by a Russian drone were being evacuated, Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne has reported.
Nine civilians were killed and seven others wounded in the attack on the town of Bilopillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, local officials said. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them older women.
Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as “deliberate killing of civilians”, adding that the “Russians could scarcely not realise what kind of vehicle they were hitting”.
Local community chief Yurii Zarko called the day “Black Saturday”, and mourning was declared in the town through Monday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that preparations are under way for a conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Russian state news agencies reported.
“A conversation is being prepared,” he was quoted as saying, after the US president announced that he would speak to Mr Putin on Monday and then to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and various members of Nato.
After being absent from a meeting on the sidelines of a summit in Albania between the leaders of Ukraine, the UK, France, Germany and Poland on Friday, in which they also called Donald Trump, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni reiterated on Saturday that Rome was open to joining any international format aimed at ending the war.
Speaking to reporters amid suggestions in Italian media that French president Emmanuel Macron had not wanted her involved, the Italian prime minister said: “Western unity has been our greatest strength since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.
“At a delicate time like this, it is important to set aside any personal [differences] that could undermine that unity.”
Europe is a long way from talking about deploying troops in Ukraine as all its efforts are currently focused on securing a ceasefire from Russia, Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni have said.
“The next step must be that the format for peace talks is made clear, as well as which security guarantees could possibly, one day, be necessary for Ukraine,” said the German chancellor Merz said.
“There is no reason to talk about [troops] at the moment, we are far from that. We want the weapons to stop, the killing to end … these are the questions we are dedicated to now, and no others,” said Mr Merz.
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Ukraine war live: Trump to call Putin and Zelensky on Monday and demand ceasefire – The Independent
