President Donald Trump announced he will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by telephone on Monday.
Trump said that his goal is to end the “bloodbath” war between the two nations.
In a post to Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said he will first speak to Putin at 10 am EST and the subject will be “stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.”
After that call, Trump will speak to Zelenskyy and “various members of NATO.”
The full post, written in all capital letters, read in full as follows:
“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. 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!!!”
Putin’s demands to end the war have remained largely consistent since the start. He has been non-negotiable that Ukraine must become a neutral country and abandon any plans to join NATO.
He has also demanded Russian sovereignty over the territories it has annexed, including Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, as well as the lifting of all Western sanctions imposed due to the invasion.
Ukraine and Western allies have largely rejected Putin’s demands.
Trump has long maintained that the war would never have happened if he had stayed in the White House for a second consecutive term.
