Donald Trump confirms he will call Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday in bid to end 'bloodbath' in Ukraine
Donald Trump has confirmed he will speak with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in a bid to get peace talks back on track.
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Taking to Truth Social, the US President said he hopes the calls will help end the "bloodbath" in Ukraine.
This comes after Russia's Putin failed to attend face-to-face talks with President Zelenskyy last week.
Trump wrote: "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!!!"
He added: "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."
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since Putin launched his violent invasion in 2022 last week, but a ceasefire remains unlikely, with the Kremlin demanding it retains control of at least five Ukrainian regions should the war end.
Trump's announcement comes just hours after a Russian attack on a civilian bus in Ukraine’s northeast Sumy region killed nine people and injured four more.
The Sumy regional head said preliminary information indicates the passenger bus was hit by a Russian Lancet drone at 06:17am local time (03:17am GMT) on Saturday morning.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy has called the attack "a deliberate killing of civilians."
Zelenskyy said on X: "There are currently seven wounded people in hospitals following a Russian drone strike on an ordinary passenger bus. The victims have suffered burns, fractures, and blast injuries."
"Tragically, nine people were killed. All the details are being verified."
In the post on X, the Ukrainian president also called for tougher sanctions on Russia, saying "without stronger pressure, Russia will not seek real diplomacy."
"We are expecting strong sanctions against Russia from the United States, from Europe, and from all our partners."
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on a post on X he was "appalled" by Russia's attack, "mere hours after talks in Türkiye."
The Sumy regional military administration said seven other people have been injured in the town of Bilopillia, also in the Sumy region.