Trump holds call with Putin just before scheduled meeting with Zelensky
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 28 that he held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I just had a good and very productive phone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
According to Trump, the call took place earlier in the morning before the start of his official talks with the Ukrainian delegation.
The Kremlin later confirmed the conversation, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledging the call to Russian state media.
Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said the call lasted just over an hour and was initiated by the U.S. side. He added that the two leaders agreed to speak again after Trump concludes his meetings with the Ukrainian delegation, and to establish two working groups focused on security and economic issues.
This was the ninth call between the two leaders since the start of 2025.
Trump said his meeting with Zelensky today will be held at his Mar-a-Lago residence with press present, followed by a joint phone call with European leaders.
Zelensky will be accompanied by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev, Chief of Ukraine's General Staff Andrii Hnatov, First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Oleksandr Bevz, President's Office non-staff advisor.
In Zelensky's Dec. 26 comments to reporters, the president said that Ukraine and the U.S. plan to discuss security guarantees, economic cooperation, as well as "all issues on which there are disagreements," including Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
