'A ceasefire will take place': Trump to speak with Putin, Zelensky on Monday to stop 'bloodbath'

Donald Trump will speak by phone to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss finding a way out of the "BLOODBATH" in the Ukraine war, the US president said on Truth Social.

Afterward, Trump said in his post, he will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO officials, expressing hope that a "ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war... will end."

"I WILL BE SPEAKING, BY TELEPHONE, TO PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN OF RUSSIA ON MONDAY, AT 10:00 A.M. THE SUBJECTS OF THE CALL WILL BE, STOPPING THE “BLOODBATH” THAT IS KILLING, ON AVERAGE, MORE THAN 5000 RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS A WEEK, AND TRADE. I WILL THEN BE SPEAKING TO PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY OF UKRAINE AND THEN, WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, VARIOUS MEMBERS OF NATO. HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY, A CEASEFIRE WILL TAKE PLACE, AND THIS VERY VIOLENT WAR, A WAR THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED, WILL END. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!" his Truth Social post read.

Earlier in the day, Kremlin said a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement, a day after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct talks in more than three years, which did not result in a truce.

The morning after the talks, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying evacuated civilians in the eastern Sumy region killed nine people and wounded five, local authorities said.

The first direct talks since the spring of 2022 -- shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion that February -- between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul resulted in a concrete agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.

Ukraine's top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the "next step" would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.

Russia said it took 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.

Russia's top 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 swap must 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, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that "this, of course, means first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 swap."

The head of Ukraine's military intelligence Kirillo Budanov told broadcaster TSN he hoped the exchange would happen next week and that he saw no hurdles to the swap.