'Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other': Trump says as peace talks inch forward

Trump signals momentum amid Ukraine war

'Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other': Trump says as peace talks inch forward

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that momentum was building towards ending the Russia–Ukraine war, while conceding that deep personal hostility between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin remains a key obstacle to peace.

Addressing reporters at the White House, Trump said the animosity between the two leaders was complicating negotiations. “Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other, and it makes it very difficult,” he said, before adding, “But I think we’re getting very close to getting a settlement. I think we have a good chance of getting it settled.”

His comments followed his disclosure a day earlier that he had recently spoken with Putin and urged a temporary halt to Russian strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during severe winter conditions. Trump said the Russian leader agreed to the request.

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire into Kyiv and various towns for a week, and he agreed to do that,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting. “A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call, you’re not going to get that.’ And he did it.”

Trump said his appeal was prompted by unusually severe weather, which he described as “record-setting cold.” Comparing conditions to freezing temperatures in Washington, he said the cold was intensifying humanitarian risks for civilians on both sides.

Despite these diplomatic efforts, hostilities have continued. Ukrainian officials said three people were killed in an overnight Russian drone attack in the southern Zaporizhzhia region on Thursday, while Zelenskyy warned that Moscow could be preparing a fresh large-scale offensive.

The remarks come ahead of US-brokered peace talks expected over the weekend and follow Russia’s invitation to Zelenskyy to hold negotiations in Moscow as part of efforts to end the nearly four-year conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow was being considered as a possible venue for the talks, after last week’s first trilateral meeting involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi.

Earlier, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Zelenskyy would be welcome in Moscow if he agreed to talks, adding that Russia would guarantee his security and make the necessary arrangements.

The diplomatic activity highlights intensifying international efforts to secure a negotiated end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, even as fighting continues on the ground.