Trump to speak to Putin in bid to secure Ukraine ceasefire
So far, the Kremlin has resisted calls for a 30-day ceasefire.
Donald Trump is set to speak to Vladimir Putin on Monday as he continues to search for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The US president announced on his Truth Social platform over the weekend that he would speak to his Russian counterpart at 10am Washington time (3pm UK time) about “stopping the ‘bloodbath’” in Ukraine “and trade”.
He added that he would then speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and “various members of Nato”.
On Sunday evening, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump along with the leaders of France, Italy and Germany to discuss the upcoming call with Mr Putin.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said the group had “discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously”.
“They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and peace talks,” the spokeswoman added.
It was the second time in three days that Sir Keir and other European leaders had spoken to Mr Trump to discuss their approach to Russia.
Last Friday, the Prime Minister spoke to both Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump during the European Political Community summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Following that conversation, Sir Keir said Ukraine’s allies were working to increase the pressure on Moscow to come to the negotiating table.
So far, the Kremlin has resisted calls for a 30-day ceasefire, and last week sent a relatively low-level delegation to Istanbul for the first face-to-face talks with Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Mr Zelensky had offered to meet Mr Putin in Istanbul for talks, but the Russian president declined to attend – a move described by Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte as “a big mistake”.
On the ground, Russia continues to suffer heavy losses for limited gains.
Western officials estimate one million Russians have been killed or wounded since the start of the conflict – far more than the number of Ukrainian casualties, while the front line remains relatively stable.
Despite this, those officials believe the head of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov, is giving Mr Putin an overly optimistic picture of developments on the battlefield, meaning the president does not want to end the war as he believes Russia is winning.
Meanwhile, the fighting continues, with Russia launching one of its most intense drone attacks of the war on Ukraine early on Sunday.
