Trump says will speak to Russia’s Putin to end Ukraine ‘bloodbath’
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US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that his call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin will be on May 19 at 10am Eastern time (10pm in Singapore).
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said on May 17 he would speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine, 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 a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the state Tass news agency the call was “being prepared”. Earlier on May 17, the Kremlin had said that a meeting between Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement.
That came a day after the first direct talks between the two countries
Early on May 17, a Russian drone attack on a minibus
Mr Zelensky, denouncing the attack and Russia’s refusal so far to agree a ceasefire, repeated his call for reinforced sanctions against Moscow.
“Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, there will be no real diplomacy there,” he insisted.
A Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying evacuated civilians in Ukraine’s eastern Sumy region killed nine people and wounded five on May 17.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
On May 16 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 1,000 prisoners of war (POWs) each.
Ukraine’s top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the “next step” would be a meeting between Mr Zelensky and Mr 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’
Top Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow and Kyiv would “present their vision of a possible future ceasefire”, without saying when.
The Kremlin said that first the POW swop had to be completed and both sides need 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 1,000 for 1,000 swop”.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Lieutenant-General Kyrylo Budanov, told broadcaster TSN he hoped the exchange would happen next week.
Posting on Truth Social on May 17, Mr Trump said he would speak to Russia’s leader on May 19 to discuss finding a way out of the “BLOODBATH”.
Afterwards, he added, he would speak to Mr Zelensky and Nato officials, expressing hope that a “ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war... will end”.
Mr Trump said on his Truth Social site that he would speak to Russia’s leader first, followed by Ukraine’s President and Nato members.
SCREENSHOT: DONALD TRUMP/X
Both Moscow and Washington have already talked up the need for a meeting on the conflict between Mr Putin and Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has argued that “nothing’s going to happen” on the conflict until he meets Mr 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 Mr 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,” Mr 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.
After the attack, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure Mr Trump would react to Mr Putin’s “cynicism”.
Elsewhere on the front lines, the Russian army said its troops captured Oleksandropil village in the eastern Donetsk region, the site of some of the most intense fighting in the war.
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 on the morning of May 17.
Mr Putin declined to travel to Turkey for the meeting, leading Mr Zelensky to accuse him of being “afraid” and to argue 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 on May 17.
On May 16, Mr Zelensky had called for a “strong reaction” from the world if the Istanbul talks failed, including new sanctions, in comments at a European summit in Albania.
Mr Macron said European nations were coordinating with Washington on additional sanctions should Moscow continue to refuse an “unconditional ceasefire”.
On May 17, 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. AFP
