On last year’s campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to end the Russian-Ukraine war. However, five months into office, the US president struggled to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire.
On Monday, Trump made his third officially announced call with Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours, but failed to secure a truce. Instead, Trump wrote on his true social platform that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a “immediate ceasefire” talks.
Trump also spoke with Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelenki after a “great conversation” with Putin. He made another appeal to the leaders of the European Union, France, Italy, Germany and Finland and Zelensky.
Ukraine and its Western allies want an immediate ceasefire, but Russia says concerns need to be addressed before consultations, reiterating that a ceasefire can be agreed after addressing the “root cause of this crisis.”
More details on many expected calls and how Ukraine and Europe responded are as follows:
what happened?
Trump and Putin said they were calling for about two hours on Monday.
“Russia and Ukraine will soon begin negotiations for a ceasefire and, more importantly, to the end of the war,” Trump posted after the phone.
He said the terms of such a ceasefire could only be negotiated between Russia and Ukraine.
After his call with Trump, Putin called the conversation “productive.”
“I have expressed my gratitude to the US President for the support the US provides to promote the resumption of in-person talks between Russia and Ukraine, with the aim of reaching a peace agreement and potentially reopening consultations.”
Trump Putin’s call comes days after the first direct talks in Torkiye between Russia and Ukraine since 2022. Friday talks in Istanbul did not provide a breakthrough in the ceasefire, but both sides agreed to a prisoner exchange.
The US delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Istanbul as part of the Trump administration’s push to end the worst three-year war in Europe since World War II.
Trump has been critical of his predecessor, President Joe Biden’s Ukrainian policy, shipping billions of dollars of weapons and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Some of the aid has already been cut by the Trump administration.
A day before the call, Ukraine accused Russia of launching the biggest drone attack of the war, killing at least one woman. Moscow has not yet responded to these allegations.
What did Russia agree to?
Putin said Trump presented his position on the prospects of a ceasefire on Monday. “Russia has also noted that it supports a peaceful reconciliation in the Ukrainian crisis. What we need now is to identify the most effective way to achieve peace,” Putin said.
“We have agreed with the US President that Russia is ready to work with the Ukrainian side in a memorandum of understanding on the possibility of a future peace agreement,” he said.
Putin added that the memorandum defines “the timing of a peace agreement with the principle of settlement (and possible)”.
“Overall, I would like to note that Russia’s position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the underlying cause of this crisis,” Putin said. “We need to determine the most effective way to move towards peace.”
Russia hopes that Ukraine will join NATO and remove efforts to withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian region, partially occupied by Russian troops.
Despite Trump’s immediate consultations, Moscow has not shown he is in a hurry to resolve the issue.
“There is no deadline. There is nothing. It’s obvious that everyone wants to do this as soon as possible, but of course the devil is in the details,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, according to the Russian press.
Reported from Moscow, Yulia Shapovarova of Al Jazeera said he agreed that “not much” during the call regarding “concrete stairs.”
“He (Putin) believes that the US can solve the problem because of its impact,” she said.
The war began in February 2022 after Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A month later, Russia and Ukraine held talks in Torkie, but they ended without a breakthrough.
Putin said on Monday that Ukraine had “blocked” those talks, but Zelensky said negotiations in 2022 fell apart as Russia surrendered its long-range weapons and demanded constitutional amendments to declare Ukrainian territory that Russia had captured during the invasion.
What else did Trump say?
“I think it worked very well,” the US president said after a call with Putin.
Trump has been trying to reach his Russian counterpart since taking office in January. Monday marked the third long call between the two presidents, with Trump sending his Middle Eastern envoy, Steve Witkov, to meet Putin several times in Moscow.
When it comes to Trump’s relationship with Zelenskyy, that’s often a testimony. Trump has accused the Ukrainian president of not wanting to end the war. In February he publicly denounced Zelensky in the White House for being “disrespectful” and “gambling with World War II.”
Shortly after Trump took office, US representatives met separately with Saudi Arabia’s Russian and Ukrainian officials as part of their efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.
On a break with past administrations, Trump tried to revive ties with Russia. In February, delegations from the US and Russia met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, improving their relationship and moving towards peace in Ukraine.
“President Trump is approaching diplomacy and is very engaged in economics as the foundation and driving force behind international affairs,” Trump’s Russia and Ukrainian envoy Keith Kellogg said in March.
In a TV interview with the state in February, Putin offered to trade with Trump, saying he was open to providing Trump with access to rare earth minerals, including the territory of Ukraine, which is occupied by Russia.
The US President also wrote about the outlook for trade between Russia and Ukraine after the ceasefire.
“Russia wants to have massive trade with the US when this devastating ‘Bloodbath’ ends. I agree. Russia has great opportunities to create large numbers of jobs and wealth. Similarly, the possibilities are unlimited.
“I just completed my two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. I think it worked very well…”
– Whitehouse (@Whitehouse) May 19, 2025
“The Trump administration will do anything for the benefit of the United States,” said Marina Milon, a postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London’s Defense Research Division.
“That’s what happens when it’s the US’s interest to have a better relationship with Russia than Ukraine,” she said, explaining there are many things that can be discussed with Russians, including the Russian influence of normalizing relations with Iran.
“Ukraine doesn’t have the same leverage,” she said. The US “gets what it essentially wanted from Ukraine.” It mentions the mineral trade signed on April 30th, which gave the US priority access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
How did Zelenskyy respond?
Zelenskyy said he spoke with Trump twice on Monday. The first was featured on X on a one-on-one call with Ukrainian leader Trump, adding that the second was a group call involving European leaders.
“At the beginning of our bilateral conversation, I reaffirmed President Trump that Ukraine is ready for a complete and unconditional ceasefire, as I told him in particular about the United States,” Zelensky wrote. “It’s important not to dilute this proposal.”
If Russia is not ready for a ceasefire, sanctions against Russia need to be extended, Zelensky wrote. “Pressure on Russia pushes it towards real peace. This is clear to everyone in the world.”
“Russia must end the war that it began and can do so at any time. Ukraine was always ready for peace.”
On Tuesday, the European Union and the UK announced sanctions against Russia after Trump Putin’s call ended without a breakthrough.
Speaking with a Kiev reporter late Monday, Zelensky said he was ready to sign a memorandum with Russia, which includes provisions for a ceasefire.
“There could be a bilateral form of memorandum, which could lead to a roadmap towards the end of the war, or a full agreement. The memorandum supported by both countries includes provisions for a ceasefire,” Zelensky said.
Today I talked twice with @potus. First, before we had a conversation with the head of Russia, we got a one-on-one call, and later President Trump and European leader @Emmanuelmacron, Prime Minister @giorgiameloni, federal chancellor @bundeskanzler, pic.twitter.com/mm6a0pro84
– volodymyr Zelenskyy /волододир work зеленсkana (@zelenskyyua) May 19, 2025
Where does the EU stand?
German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Finland President Alexander Stubb and European Commission Chairman Ursula von der Leyen were the second calls for Trump and Zelenkie.
“We also discussed possible next steps along with European leaders, particularly meetings with negotiators and objective evaluation of proposals on each side. All proposals on the table deserve an honest evaluation. Therefore, the negotiation process must involve both American and European representatives at an appropriate level.
Ukraine has called on us to be involved in the meeting. Washington is the largest arms supplier since the Russian invasion and has also provided diplomatic support for Kyiv at the United Nations.
However, the Trump administration does not want to provide security assurances to Ukraine, and instead hopes that European countries will strengthen their defence contributions.
On Monday, Meltz wrote to X:
Meloni also expressed her support for “an immediate start of negotiations between the parties that could lead to a ceasefire as soon as possible.”
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV has expressed his readiness to host direct consultations between Russia and Ukraine. “The willingness of the Holy Father to hold consultations at the Vatican was considered positive. Italy is ready to play its role in promoting contact and working for peace,” Meloni wrote.
What’s next?
In addition to the Vatican, Zelensky writes that Torkier and Switzerland are considered as a place for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
“The reopening of contacts between participants in the Istanbul meetings and consultations gives us reason to believe we are on the right track overall,” Putin said Monday.
Trump told reporters that day that he expected progress in the talks, but if there were no progress, he would “just set back.”
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said Trump is “tired and irritated on both sides of the conflict.” However, she did not specify whether Trump gave Russia and Ukraine a deadline for the next step.
Zelenskyy calls for the continued involvement of the US to resolve the conflict, adding that it is important for the US to “not distance itself.”
However, King’s College’s Milon said, “I hope that the US will take a more passive attitude towards this as Europeans are trying to support or support Ukraine (Ukraine-Russia War).”
“Unless the interests of the US are at stake, I don’t think he’ll be back. He’ll probably only step in if he sees the interests of the Americans.