Trump confirms he 'spoke to Putin about ending war in Ukraine' as Russian president 'wants to see people stop dying'

The president has vowed to bring an end to the war in Ukraine but is yet to set out his plans to do so.

He said last week that the war had become a bloodbath, adding that his team had "very constructive talks" on the matter.

When asked how many times he had spoken to Putin about the war on Friday, Trump said he had "better not say".

"[Putin] wants to see people stop dying," he said while aboard Air Force One.

He said he had "always had a good relationship with Putin".

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS state news agency that "many different communications are emerging".

"These communications are conducted through different channels," he said.

"I personally may not know something, be unaware of something. Therefore, in this case, I can neither confirm nor deny it."

The White House is yet to comment on the reported calls.

Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 as part of what he called a "special military operation".

He said it was to counter a grave threat to Russia from potential Ukrainian membership of Nato.

However, the West claimed it to be an imperial-style land grab and vowed to defeat Russian forces.

Trump said on Friday that he is expecting to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week to discuss ending the war.

"I hope it's fast," he said. "Every day people are dying. This war is so bad in Ukraine. I want to end this damn thing."