The first direct Ukraine-Russia talks did not deliver a ceasefire but it did result in the largest prisoner swap of the war. CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine — For hours Friday, a crowd of hopefuls stood on the roadside wrapped in blue-and-yellow flags and clutching photos of captured Ukrainian soldiers — their eyes peeled for any sign of buses.

US President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine will "immediately" start negotiating towards a ceasefire and an end to the war after a two-hour phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Trump,

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for two hours in a call both called “useful," but offered no breakthrough in Russia–Ukraine peace negotiations.

Russia and Ukraine have no direct peace talks scheduled, the Kremlin said Thursday, nearly a week after their first face-to-face session since shortly after Moscow's invasion in 2022 and days after U.

President Donald Trump held a high-stakes call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday over the war in Ukraine.

Putin said efforts to end the war were "generally on the right track" and that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a potential peace deal.

Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared three-day pause expired.

President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire negotiations. Trump spoke Monday after separate calls with the leaders of both countries meant to spur progress toward ending the three-year war.

President Trump stepped back from his demands for an immediate 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine following calls with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, instead suggesting

President Vladimir Putin said, according to a translation by the BBC: "We are determined to have serious negotiations with Ukraine. The purpose is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and establish long-term, lasting peace with a historical perspective.

Ukraine’s Western allies said they would strengthen sanctions if Russia refused an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.