Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a "meaningful" phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, discussing efforts to end the war in Ukraine, opportunities to achieve peace, and Trump's earlier call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy also noted that they talked about preparing a document on security and economic cooperation between the two countries.
"We long talked about opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine's technological capabilities," Zelenskyy said on X.
Trump said Wednesday that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted "peace," after the U.S. president spoke to Putin about talks to end the Ukraine war.
"I just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE," Trump said on Truth Social, adding that Zelenskyy would meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich on Friday.
"No one wants peace more than Ukraine. Together with the US, we are charting our next steps to stop Russian aggression and ensure a lasting, reliable peace. As President Trump said, let's get it done."
Zelenskyy has been trying to keep on the right side of Trump and maintain U.S. support while pushing his own nation's demands for peace with Russia.
There had been earlier signs of a thaw this week with a prisoner swap deal that saw Moscow free U.S. teacher Marc Fogel while Washington released Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik.
The Trump administration said Wednesday it had also secured the release of a U.S. citizen held in Moscow's ally Belarus.
Trump heaped praise on the Russian president in his Truth Social post, saying that Putin "even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE.'" and thanking him for Fogel's release.
The U.S. president has repeatedly expressed admiration for the Russian leader in the past. Two investigations into alleged collusion between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign resulted in a number of convictions but found no evidence of criminal cooperation.
The Kremlin's statement on the call was more measured, saying that Putin "agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peace negotiations."
"President Trump spoke in favor of stopping hostilities as soon as possible and solving the problem by peaceful means," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in his readout of the call.
Putin had also invited Trump to visit Moscow, he said.
Zelenskyy this week floated the idea of exchanging occupied land but Russia rejected the proposal, hours after launching a fresh barrage of drones and missiles on Kyiv.
