Trump Shares Big News After Phone Calls with Putin, Zelensky
President Donald Trump disclosed on Wednesday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a "very good" phone call.
Trump stated that the conversation lasted about an hour, during which they discussed the preliminary agreement the U.S. had made with Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day.
"Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. We are very much on track," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform shortly after the call ended.
On Tuesday, Putin agreed to pause strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. However, the Trump administration's initial goal of securing a ceasefire did not extend to the frontlines or civilian areas.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism on Wednesday, suggesting that a complete ceasefire could be achieved within weeks, despite skepticism from Ukrainian and European leaders.
He also indicated that an official meeting between Trump and Putin is "likely to happen," as national security advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to return to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss the specifics of Tuesday’s agreement.
It remains uncertain whether Ukrainian officials will also travel back to Saudi Arabia for negotiations with Russian representatives.
As a "gesture of goodwill," Putin also consented to exchange 175 prisoners and repatriate 23 "seriously wounded" Ukrainians.
Following his call with Trump, Zelenskyy shared on X that "one of the largest POW exchanges" had taken place. His post included a photo of Ukrainian soldiers draped in national flags after returning from Russian captivity.
Zelenskyy confirmed that 175 soldiers and 22 "defenders" had been released.
"We are also grateful to all our partners, especially the United Arab Emirates, for making today’s exchange possible," he stated, though he did not mention U.S. involvement in the negotiations.
While speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News' "Ingraham Angle" on Tuesday, Trump admitted that pressuring Putin further toward a ceasefire would have been difficult. Meanwhile, global leaders voiced their frustration that Putin had dismissed an agreement Ukraine had proposed last week. "Russia has the advantage."
Following Trump’s call with Putin, Zelenskyy’s office did not respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital. However, Zelenskyy stated in a post on X that "Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire."
"It would be right for the world to respond by rejecting any attempts by Putin to prolong the war," he emphasized, pointing to Russia’s continued assaults on Ukrainian civilians, including a Tuesday night Shahed drone strike that targeted a hospital in Ukraine’s Sumy region.
"Sanctions against Russia. Assistance to Ukraine. Strengthening allies in the free world and working toward security guarantees," Zelenskyy listed as necessary steps the West should take against Putin. "Only a real cessation of strikes on civilian infrastructure by Russia, as proof of its willingness to end this war, can bring peace closer."
Earlier this week, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett described Trump as the "right man in history" to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine.
"I have a lot of faith in President Trump. I tend to like him. I’ve told people I don’t want him teaching my daughter’s Sunday school class, but I like him running my country. You know, he’s a straight-up guy. You know, he — I hear all this talk about rough talk and threatening and he’s, he’s always been just very kind to me. And we talk about issues and he doesn’t — he always has the answer. But if he doesn’t, he gets right back to me. So, yeah, I think he gets Putin. I mean, literally, the guy deals with Teamsters on a daily basis in New York City. I think he can handle Putin and he gets it. He gets that ego and he can handle him and he is the right man in history to bring about peace, honestly," Burchett said.
"I think it’s incredibly in sight. But what I worry about is both parties. I think Washington’s crooked as a dog’s leg, and in Washington, the money is going to come back to somewhere. You’re going to see that paper trail. And I think that’s when you’re going to see — and I told Elon Musk this and I told President Trump, I think you’ve got 100 and 150 days before members of both parties start pulling out on you, because you know, Charles, it’s going to start hitting close to home," he added.
Burchett continued, "Elon has a paper trail and members are getting nervous. And that’s why I don’t think we’re bringing any of these great findings to the floor of the House, to the floor of the Senate. And nobody wants to, apparently, because they’re afraid it’s going to cut into their pocketbooks. And we — America better wake up and realize we’ve been given a gift. We have a chance to take our country back. $36 trillion in debt."