'Have the meeting, now!' — Trump urges Ukraine, Russia to hold direct talks

Ukraine and Russia should hold peace talks "immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post to social media on May 11.

"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," Trump said on his Truth Social account.

Europe has proposed increasing sanctions pressure on Russia in response to the Kremlin's resistance to U.S.-brokered ceasefire efforts. Putin has rejected an immediate ceasefire and instead suggested direct peace talks be held in Istanbul beginning May 15.

"At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!" Trump said.

"I'm starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who's too busy celebrating the Victory of World War II ... Have the meeting, now!"

Trump's support for the proposed Istanbul talks marks a departure from how other Western leaders — including some U.S. officials — have responded to Putin's invitation. Ukraine's European allies have said a ceasefire must come before negotiations.

U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg echoed these points, saying, "As President Trump has repeatedly said, stop the killing!! An unconditional 30-day ceasefire first and, during it, move into comprehensive peace discussions.  Not the other way around."

Kyiv has said it is ready to talk but insists any negotiations must begin with a full cessation of hostilities.

The Kremlin has shown no signs it is willing to move forward on a peace deal with Ukraine, to Trump's reported frustration. Russian authorities have listed maximalist demands in ceasefire negotiations brokered by the U.S.

Ukraine has already agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire, saying on March 11 that Kyiv is ready if Russia also agrees to the terms. So far, Moscow has refused.

In a historic meeting in Kyiv on May 10, Ukraine and European allies put forth a demand for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire beginning May 12. By responding with an invitation to talks and no promises to extend the ceasefire, Putin refused the call for an unconditional truce.

‘We have not surrendered’ — how Ukrainians living under Russian occupation defied Putin’s ‘Victory Day’

Editor’s Note: The identities of Yellow Ribbon activists who live in Russian-occupied territory have been withheld for security reasons. “When my child hears about May 9 they almost scream, and so do I,” an activist with the Ukrainian Yellow Ribbon civil resistance group currently living in the Russian-occupied town of Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, tells the Kyiv Independent. “Every week at school, from the very beginning of the semester, my kid has to do something about May 9,’” “We have le

The Kyiv IndependentYuliia Taradiuk