Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Trump and Putin have yet to have direct contact, communicating only through their officials. Trump's last in-person encounter with his Russian counterpart was during the 2018 Helsinki Summit during the U.S. president's first term.
"I think we have a deal with both, I hope they do it," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
"It's time to move forward on (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump's (Ukraine-Russia) war directive: stop the killing, achieve peace, and put America First," U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said.
"(U)nfortunately, President Zelensky seems to be moving in the wrong direction," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Key developments on April 23: * US expects territorial concessions from Russia, Ukraine in potential peace deal * Ukraine insists on unconditional ceasefire at London peace talks * Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian * 'Groundless accusations, political manipulations' — China reacts to Ukraine summoning its envoy * Ukrainian drone strike
In an interview with French outlet Le Point, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov laid out Moscow’s demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine, including the full recognition of Russia’s claim over four Ukrainian oblasts it partially occupies, neutral status for Ukraine, and an end to all Western military support.
The London meeting, originally intended as a ministerial-level summit involving the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and Ukraine, was notably downgraded after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff declined to participate.
The visit comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to broker a ceasefire in Russia's war against Ukraine. Washington has warned it may withdraw from the mediation process if no progress is made in the coming days.
“I don’t know about by the end of the week. I’m hopeful that we can get to something quickly,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with the Honestly podcast on April 23.
Formally recognizing Crimea as Russian would breach international law and potentially open the door to further global conflicts, experts warn.
The meeting was to be held at a ministerial level, but was downgraded after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio canceled his participation.
Russia continues to engage with the U.S. on a possible settlement of the war in Ukraine, but not with Kyiv and Europe, the Kremlin said. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is still expected to visit Russia despite the breakdown of the London summit.
The White House also disbanded the Justice Department's War Crimes Accountability Team and dismantled a program to seize assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, the WP reported.
Ukraine would not want the U.S. to withdraw from peace talks on ending Russia's full-scale invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 22 during a press conference.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on April 23 that the U.S. presented a "very explicit proposal" to Russia and Ukraine on a peace deal, repeating warnings Washington might drop its peace effort if the belligerent sides refuse.
The U.S. does not call for reducing Ukraine's military capabilities and is not opposed to a European peacekeeping force in the country, Reuters reported on April 23, citing two undisclosed sources.
The U.S. reportedly presented its peace proposal last week during a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Paris.
Chief diplomats of the U.K., France, and Germany have suspended their plans to attend the talks in London on how to end Russia's war against Ukraine, Sky News reported on April 23.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the reinstatement of all employees and the restoration of VoA programming so that it can "serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were originally expected to attend, but have since pulled out, U.S. and European officials told the Financial Times.
This could be the first formal indication from Russian President Vladimir Putin since the full-scale war began in 2022 that Russia may consider scaling back its territorial demands.
Standing beside a sleepy village in Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad Oblast, the Zavalivskiy mine lies beneath layers of brown and pink earth, holding some 7.5 million metric tons of graphite ore — the second largest flake graphite mine in Europe. Like many mining companies in Ukraine, Zavalivskiy Graphite has lost
"We are expecting (him)," Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said when asked if U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff would arrive in the coming days.
American actor and film director Sean Penn met with the soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of the Special Operations Forces stationed in Kropyvnytskyi.
Japan's Kyushu University Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) has agreed to provide Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, Intelligence Online magazine reported on April 21.
Concerns about the U.S. global credibility under Trump are shared by roughly one-third of Republicans.
Russian officials discussed the possibility of reviving plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow to entice U.S. President Donald Trump to reset relations, the Moscow Times reported on April 21.
Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said on April 21 that there are currently "no talks" of U.S. President Donald Trump visiting Moscow for Russian President Vladimir Putin's May 9 Victory Parade.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to "negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side" regarding a ceasefire. Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since early 2022.
"We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace," President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote.
"I will be giving you full details over the next three days, but we had very good meetings on Ukraine, Russia," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
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