In a lengthy phone call on Wednesday, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin agreed that a brief cease-fire should take place in Ukraine in the coming days, according to both Mr. Trump and a top adviser to Mr. Putin.
Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s chief foreign policy adviser, said the ceasefire would coincide with the Russian holiday marking the end of World War II on May 9, but he did not specify the exact time.
Mr Trump told reporters at the White House: “I suggested a little truce and I think he might do that. A lot of people are dying, it’s ridiculous.”
Mr. Ushakov did not explicitly say who suggested the ceasefire, but said Mr. Putin “informed his American counterpart about his readiness to declare a ceasefire for the period of the Victory Day celebrations.” Mr. Trump “actively” supported the idea, Mr. Ushakov said.
This year, Russia has significantly scaled back its plans to celebrate Victory Day, which under Mr Putin is one of the state’s most sacred holidays, and usually sees parades in all major cities and many towns. In a departure from decades-old tradition, no heavy military equipment will pass through Red Square, an acknowledgment of Ukraine’s long-range firepower.
A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev first needed to clarify what Mr Trump and Mr Putin had discussed before considering a possible ceasefire. Moscow and Kiev held a ceasefire earlier this month to coincide with Orthodox Easter, but each side accused the other of multiple violations.
The conversation between the two leaders came a day after King Charles III addressed Congress, in which he said “ensuring a truly just and lasting peace requires determination to protect Ukraine and its bravest people.” It was not clear what private conversations took place between the king and Mr Trump on the matter.
Most US allies in Europe remain committed to supporting Ukraine, but Mr Trump, who has at times blamed Ukraine for a war that started with a Russian invasion in 2022 and has spoken warmly of Mr Putin, has sharply cut aid to Kiev.
Mr Ushakov said the two presidents expressed “in essence” similar opinions about Kiev, which he said was being “provoked and supported by the Europeans” to “adopt a strategy aimed at prolonging the conflict”. The White House has not yet released a readout of the call.
Mr Ushakov also said Mr Trump believed a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine was now close. Before taking office in January 2025, Mr Trump repeatedly said he could end the war quickly, a claim he has not repeated publicly recently, instead saying he was surprised by how difficult it would be. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump once again sounded somewhat optimistic, saying, “I think we’ll find a resolution relatively quickly, I hope.”
According to Mr. Ushakov, Mr. Putin said that his objectives in Ukraine would be achieved no matter what, although he “would have preferred a negotiated solution.”
Mr. Ushakov said much of the hour-and-a-half conversation focused on the war in the Middle East. Mr Putin said he supported Mr Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire with Iran and drew attention to “the inevitable and extremely damaging consequences if the United States and Israel resume military actions – not only for Iran and its neighbors but also for the entire international community”.
He said the Russian leader “presented a number of ideas aimed at resolving disagreements regarding the Iranian nuclear program.”
It was the 12th conversation between the two leaders since Mr Trump returned to office for a second term.
Contributed reporting Zolan Kanno-Youngs And ed wong from Washington, continuously mehut Kyiv, Ukraine, and from Michael D. Shear from New York.
