Long phone call today, between Vladimir Putin e Donald Trump. During the interview, defined as “frank and pragmatic” and lasted about an hour and a halfthe Russian leader said he was ready for a truce in Ukraine to coincide with Victory Day on May 9, Kremlin Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov announced. For his part, the American president would have said he was in favor of the truce. The last call between the ‘tsar’ and the tycoon was on March 9th.
According to what Ushakov told the Tass agency, “Trump told Putin that an agreement to resolve the conflict in Ukraine is now close“, while “the Russian president said that since the beginning of 2025, Russia has transferred over 20,000 bodies to Ukraine and has received just over 500 from Ukraine.”
For a negotiated solution in Ukraine, “Zelensky must respond positively to the well-known proposals previously outlined,” the advisor then said, adding that Putin “explained to Trump the situation in the zone of the special military operation, where Russian troops are pushing the enemy back” and explaining that “the objectives will be achieved and that Russia would prefer to do so through negotiations”. Between the two leaders, the Kremlin advisor continued, also an evaluation “of behavior of the Kiev regime, led by Zelensky, which is prolonging the conflict“.
Among the topics addressed in the conversation, Ushakov also said the conflict in Iran and the Middle East: “Putin considers Trump’s decision to extend the ceasefire around Iran to be correct, which should help stabilize the situation” while “a ground operation against Iran would be completely unacceptable and dangerous.”
The two leaders also discussed the “great prospects of mutually beneficial projects in the economic and energy sectors” but also “agreed to maintain contact both on a personal and collaborator level“. Putin then “congratulated Melania Trump on her belated birthday and highlighted her contribution to reuniting Russian and Ukrainian children with their families”, Ushakov further added.