Trump To Speak With Putin As Ukraine-Russia Talks Yield Prisoner Swap Agreement

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he plans to speak by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss ending the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“I will be speaking, by telephone, to President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Monday, at 10:00 a.m.,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade."

This comes a day after direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, the first since early 2022, resulted in an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each according to AFP.

According to the Hindu, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed the call is being prepared. The Kremlin also stated that a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would only be possible after both sides reach an agreement and complete the prisoner swap.

Aljazeera reported n Saturday, a Russian drone attack struck a minibus evacuating civilians in Ukraine’s eastern Sumy region, killing nine people and injuring five. Another drone attack hit a private house in the Kyiv region, killing one woman and wounding three others.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the next step would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said both sides would present their vision for a ceasefire, without specifying a timeline.

Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kirillo Budanov said the prisoner exchange is hoped to take place next week.

President Zelensky condemned the attacks and Russia’s refusal to agree on a ceasefire, as per Arab News. French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have also indicated coordination for potential new sanctions.

Fighting continues along various fronts, with Russian forces reportedly capturing Oleksandropil village in the Donetsk region and carrying out missile and drone strikes across eastern Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the prisoner exchange and noted Moscow was preparing a ceasefire proposal.