‘Stop the bloodbath': Trump's promise on war
US president Donald Trump has boldly declared he will 'stop the bloodbath' of Russia's invasion of Ukraine adding the 'very violent war' should never have happened.
He revealed he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to end the war a day after the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years.
Mr Trump, who has been pressing Russia to agree to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, said he would speak with him by phone.
'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,' Mr Trump revealed on the social media platform Truth.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the state TASS news agency the call was 'being prepared'.
Mr Trump said he would also speak with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and 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,' he added on Truth.
Earlier on Saturday, the Kremlin had said that a meeting between Putin and Mr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement.
That came a day after direct talks between the two countries led to an agreement for another exchange of prisoners.
Early Saturday, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying evacuated civilians in Ukraine's eastern Sumy region killed nine people and wounded five, local authorities said.
Mr Zelensky, denouncing the attack and Russia's refusal so far to agree a ceasefire, repeated his call for fresh sanctions against Moscow.
'Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, there will be no real diplomacy there,' he insisted.
On Friday in Istanbul, the first direct Ukraine-Russia talks since the spring of 2022 – shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion that February – led to an agreement to exchange 1000 prisoners each.
Ukraine's top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the 'next step' would be a meeting between Mr Zelensky and Putin.
Russia said it had taken note of the request.
'We consider it possible, but only as a result of the work and upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides,' the Kremlin's spokesman said.
Trump denounces 'bloodbath'
Russia's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow and Kyiv would 'present their vision of a possible future ceasefire'.
The Kremlin said that the POW swap had to be completed first, and both sides needed to present their visions for a ceasefire before fixing the next round of talks.
'For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday' in Turkey, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, which meant 'first and foremost to complete a 1000 for 1000 swap'.
The head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kirillo Budanov, told broadcaster TSN he hoped the exchange would happen next week.
Both Moscow and Washington have already stressed the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has argued that 'nothing's going to happen' on the conflict until he meets Putin face-to-face.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the latest prisoner exchange in a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
And in an interview with CBS, he said Lavrov had told him Moscow was preparing a document outlining its requirements for a ceasefire.
If Russia and Moscow can both provide 'serious and viable' proposals 'then there's been real progress, and we can work off of that,' Rubio said.
Fighting goes on
The attack on the bus happened near the city of Bilopillya, local community head Yuri Zarko told Suspilne TV. A family of three were among the dead, the authorities said.
Elsewhere on the front lines, the Russian army said its troops captured Oleksandropil village in the eastern Donetsk region, a site of some of the most intense fighting.
As well as Sumy, Russia also pounded eastern Ukraine with missiles and drones, killing six and wounding more than a dozen, officials said. In Kherson, Russian shelling hit a truck carrying humanitarian aid Saturday morning.
Mr Zelensky accused Putin of being 'afraid' after he declined to travel to Turkey for talks and argued that Russia was not taking the talks seriously.
'Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation with no significant powers. This must change. We need real steps to end the war,' Mr Zelensky said Saturday.
On Friday, Mr Zelensky had called for a 'strong reaction' from the world, including new sanctions, if the Istanbul talks failed.
Mr Macron said European nations were co-ordinating with Washington on additional sanctions should Moscow continue to refuse an 'unconditional ceasefire.'
On Saturday, Mr Zelensky said he had spoken to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about fresh and effective sanctions against Russia.
During the Istanbul talks, the Ukrainian side said Russia had made 'unacceptable' territorial demands.
Moscow claims annexation of five Ukrainian regions – four since its 2022 invasion, and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
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