Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump will speak by phone on Tuesday, as a US official expressed hope that the two leaders could agree on a Ukraine ceasefire within weeks.
Trump stated earlier that "a lot of work" had been done between the United States and Russia to resolve the three-year conflict in Ukraine, and he believed there was a "very good chance" hostilities would end soon.
Putin said last week that he agreed with the idea of a ceasefire but raised "serious questions" about how it would be implemented, which he wanted to discuss with Trump.
Kyiv has agreed to the ceasefire, while its European allies have criticized Putin for not committing to an unconditional and immediate halt in fighting. The UK accused the Russian leader of "dragging his feet."
"There is such a conversation being prepared for Tuesday," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, ahead of the Trump-Putin call, without commenting on the specific topics of discussion.
Trump said the two would discuss "land" and power plants—likely referring to the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine.
Russia occupies large portions of southern and eastern Ukraine.
Trump's last conversation with Putin was last month, breaking Western efforts to isolate the Russian leader as long as his forces continued their offensive in Ukraine.
Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Putin in Moscow last Thursday to present the details of a joint ceasefire plan, which envisions a 30-day pause in hostilities.
Witkoff told CNN that he expected some sort of deal in the "coming weeks."
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has reacted angrily to Putin's statements, accusing him of wanting to prolong the conflict.
On Saturday, Zelensky warned that Moscow wanted to first "improve its situation on the battlefield" before agreeing to any ceasefire.
Russia Presses Forward
Moscow has continued its advances in several areas of the front for over a year.
On Monday, Russia claimed its forces had captured Stepove, a village in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, although open-source battlefield maps showed it was still outside Moscow's control.
Russia has also mounted a major counteroffensive in Ukraine's Kursk region over the past two weeks.
Moscow retook Sudzha, a key town that Ukraine had seized during its summer 2024 incursion, along with surrounding areas.
Russia has said it has moved several hundred civilians previously trapped in Ukrainian-controlled areas.
Andrey Klimenko, one of those civilians, spoke to AFP after leaving his home in the village of Zamostye, outside Sudzha, on Friday as Russian forces pushed to recapture land. He is now staying in a displacement center.
"Planes were dropping bombs near my vegetable patch. I nearly died because of bombs, mortar fire, and drones," the 52-year-old said.
Ukraine has admitted it is in a difficult position in the region but denies that its troops are surrounded.
Zelensky replaced his army's chief of staff last week as Kyiv's frontline troops continued to struggle.
Exchange of Fire
After a brief lull in drone attacks last week, both sides appeared to have escalated hostilities on Monday.
Ukrainian forces launched a drone strike on southern Russia, setting an oil refinery on fire, while Moscow launched a barrage of nearly 200 drones against Ukraine.
Around 500 people in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region lost power due to the attacks, and one person was wounded. Governor Oleg Kiper reported that several buildings, including a preschool, were damaged.
Putin had said last week that he would support a ceasefire only if it led to "long-term peace" and addressed the root causes of the crisis.
Among Putin's demands are that Ukraine never join the NATO military alliance, that European peacekeepers not be deployed on Ukrainian territory, and that Moscow be allowed to retain all the land it currently occupies.
Since Russia seized Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow now controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky has rejected Putin's demands, asserting that the Russian leader does not truly seek peace.
In the Kursk region, displaced resident Yekaterina Panova, 35, expressed hope that Trump could mediate.
"We really want America to somehow influence Russia’s relationship with Ukraine," she told AFP.
"Both Russians and Ukrainians are Slavs. It's just some kind of fratricide happening."
With AFP
Comments