
Ukraine war briefing: Putin tells Trump in phone call Moscow ready to resume peace talks
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Ukraine war briefing: Putin tells Trump in phone call Moscow ready to resume peace talks
Russia ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine after exchange of prisoners, bodies. Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office. Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected the prisoner swaps to continue until 20 or 21 June. He said he hoped that the escalation between Israel and Iran would not result in a drop in military aid to Kyiv, according to remarks published by the Kyiv Post. The recent escalation sparked fears Washington might relocate resources at its expense, to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran on Friday. The prisoner exchange was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul. The Russian defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting ‘Glory to Russia’
Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy meanwhile did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that “the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step.” Zelenskyy urged the United States to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the fighting. He said he hoped that the escalation between Israel and Iran would not result in a drop in military aid to Kyiv, according to remarks published on Saturday: “We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.” The recent escalation sparked fears Washington might relocate resources at its expense, to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran Friday.
A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said on Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatened Ukraine’s position on the battlefield, especially because western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. “The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,” Zelenskyy said. “The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.”
Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners in the fourth such exchange this week, part of a large-scale plan to bring back 1,000 wounded prisoners from each side and return the bodies of dead soldiers. The prisoner agreement was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul. Photos published by Zelenskyy on Telegram showed men of various ages, draped in Ukrainian flags. Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling. Moscow’s defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting “Glory to Russia” and “hooray”, some raising their fists in the air. However, Russian state media reported that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv, echoing a statement Russia made on Friday, when it returned the bodies of 1,200 slain Ukrainian soldiers. Zelenskyy said he expected the prisoner swaps to continue until 20 or 21 June.
Russia sets out punitive terms at peace talks with Ukraine
Moscow says it seeks a long-term settlement, not a pause in the war. Ukraine rejects the Nazi charge as absurd and denies discriminating against Russian speakers. Russia also formalised its terms for any ceasefire en route to a peace settlement. Ukraine has proposed holding more talks before the end of June, but believes only a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy can resolve the many issues of contention. The Russian delegation also suggested a “specific ceasefire of two to three days in certain sections of the front” so that the bodies of dead soldiers could be collected. The United States is ready to walk away from its mediation efforts unless the two sides demonstrate progress towards a deal, U.S. President Donald Trump has said. The terms highlighted Moscow’s refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by Trump to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine. It also restated Moscow’s demands that Ukraine become a neutral country – ruling out membership of NATO – and that it protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian an official language and enact a legal ban on glorification of Nazism.
Leaked memo details stringent Russian demands
Second round of direct negotiations since 2022
Warring sides agree on humanitarian steps
Erdogan wants Putin, Zelenskiy, Trump to meet in Turkey
ISTANBUL, June 2 (Reuters) – Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media.
The terms, formally presented at negotiations in Istanbul, highlighted Moscow’s refusal to compromise on its longstanding war goals despite calls by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine.
Sign up here.
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Delegations from the warring sides met for barely an hour, for only the second such round of negotiations since March 2022. They agreed to exchange more prisoners of war – focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded – and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan described it as a great meeting and said he hoped to bring together Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a meeting in Turkey with Trump.
But there was no breakthrough on a proposed ceasefire that Ukraine, its European allies and Washington have all urged Russia to accept.
Moscow says it seeks a long-term settlement, not a pause in the war; Kyiv says Putin is not interested in peace. Trump has said the United States is ready to walk away from its mediation efforts unless the two sides demonstrate progress towards a deal.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who headed Kyiv’s delegation, said Kyiv – which has drawn up its own peace roadmap – would review the Russian document, on which he offered no immediate comment.
Ukraine has proposed holding more talks before the end of June, but believes only a meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin can resolve the many issues of contention, Umerov said.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine presented a list of 400 children it says have been abducted to Russia, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them. Russia says the children were moved from war zones to protect them.
RUSSIAN DEMANDS
The Russian memorandum, which was published by the Interfax news agency, said a settlement of the war would require international recognition of Crimea – a peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 – and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them.
It restated Moscow’s demands that Ukraine become a neutral country – ruling out membership of NATO – and that it protect the rights of Russian speakers, make Russian an official language and enact a legal ban on glorification of Nazism. Ukraine rejects the Nazi charge as absurd and denies discriminating against Russian speakers.
Russia also formalised its terms for any ceasefire en route to a peace settlement, presenting two options that both appeared to be non-starters for Ukraine.
Item 1 of 9 Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov [1/9] Ukrainian service members of the 25th Sicheslav Airborne Brigade fire a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launch system towards Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine April 19, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
Option one, according to the text, was for Ukraine to start a full military withdrawal from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Of those, Russia fully controls the first but holds only about 70% of the rest.
Option two was a package that would require Ukraine to cease military redeployments and accept a halt to foreign provision of military aid, satellite communications and intelligence. Kyiv would also have to lift martial law and hold presidential and parliamentary elections within 100 days.
Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow had also suggested a “specific ceasefire of two to three days in certain sections of the front” so that the bodies of dead soldiers could be collected.
According to a proposed roadmap drawn up by Ukraine, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Kyiv wants no restrictions on its military strength after any peace deal, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow’s forces, and reparations.
UKRAINE TARGETS RUSSIAN BOMBER FLEET
The conflict has been heating up, with Russia launching its biggest drone attacks of the war and advancing on the battlefield in May at its fastest rate in six months.
On Sunday, Ukraine said it launched 117 drones in an operation codenamed “Spider’s Web” to attack Russian nuclear-capable long-range bomber planes at airfields in Siberia and the far north of the country.
Satellite imagery suggested the attacks had caused substantial damage, although the two sides gave conflicting accounts of the extent of it.
Western military analysts described the strikes, thousands of miles from the front lines, as one of the most audacious Ukrainian operations of the war.
Russia’s strategic bomber fleet forms part of the “triad” of forces – along with missiles launched from the ground or from submarines – that make up the country’s nuclear arsenal, the biggest in the world. Faced with repeated warnings from Putin of Russia’s nuclear might, the U.S. and its allies have been wary throughout the Ukraine conflict of the risk that it could spiral into World War Three.
A current U.S. administration official said Trump and the White House were not notified before the attack. A former administration official said Ukraine, for operational security reasons, regularly does not disclose to Washington its plans for such actions.
A UK government official said the British government also was not told ahead of time.
Zelenskiy said the operation, which involved drones concealed inside wooden sheds, had helped to restore partners’ confidence that Ukraine is able to continue waging the war.
“Ukraine says that we are not going to surrender and are not going to give in to any ultimatums,” he told an online news briefing.
“But we do not want to fight, we do not want to demonstrate our strength – we demonstrate it because the enemy does not want to stop.”
Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Osborn; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne, Olena Harmash and Christian Lowe in Kyiv, Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul, Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara, Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, Andrew MacAskill and Darya Korsunskaya in London, Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow and Maxim Rodionov in London Editing by Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
Ukraine war briefing: Kremlin holds back peace memorandum that it promised Trump
Ukraine has submitted its peace terms and insisted Russia do the same before further talks, which the Kremlin has demanded take place next Monday in Turkey. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said instead that a Russian team “is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, 2 June” Donald Trump said he would determine within “about two weeks” whether Putin was serious about ending the fighting.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said instead that a Russian team “is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian delegation and provide the necessary explanations during a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, 2 June”. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Wednesday called for Moscow to engage in “good-faith” talks with Ukraine in a call with Lavrov.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Wednesday accused Russia of dragging out the peace process and of not wanting to halt its offensive. “They will constantly look for reasons not to end the war,” he said at a press conference in Berlin alongside the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
Vladimir Putin promised Donald Trump that Russia would produce the “memorandum” in conjunction with Ukraine when their much-vaunted phone call took place on 19 May. Donald Trump posted on Tuesday that Putin was “playing with fire” by continuing to attack Ukraine, but on Wednesday the US president’s words sounded more tepid. Trump said he would determine within “about two weeks” whether Putin was serious about ending the fighting. He was “very disappointed” but rebuffed calls to impose more sanctions on Moscow: “If I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t want to screw it up by doing that.” As Peter Beaumont writes, there has been little or no sign of a deal.
Putin and Trump discussed Middle East tensions, Ukraine talks on phone call, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a 50-minute phone call Saturday. They discussed the escalating situation in the Middle East and Ukraine peace talks, Putin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said. Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia’s proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue. Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming’
During the conversation, Putin briefed Trump on his recent talks with the leaders of Iran and Israel and reiterated Russia’s proposal to seek mutually acceptable solutions on the Iranian nuclear issue.
“The dangerous escalation of the situation in the Middle East was naturally at the center of the exchange of opinions,” Ushakov told journalists following the conversation between Putin and Trump.
“Vladimir Putin, having condemned the military operation against Iran, expressed serious concern about the possible escalation of the conflict,” he said, warning of “unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East.”
Putin also emphasized Russia’s readiness to carry out possible mediation efforts, and noted that Russia had proposed steps “aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements” during U.S.-Iran negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.
“Russia’s principled approach and interest in the settlement remain unchanged,” Ushakov said.
Trump described the regional situation as “very alarming,” Ushakov said, but acknowledged the “effectiveness” of Israel’s strikes on targets in Iran.
The leaders did not rule out a possible return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, according to Ushakov.
According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump about the implementation of the agreements during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including the exchange of prisoners of war.
“Our president noted that an exchange of prisoners of war is taking place, including seriously wounded and prisoners of war under 25 years of age,” Ushakov said, along with expressing readiness to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians.
Trump, he said, “noted his interest in a speedy end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.”
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
The Associated Press
‘We don’t want this anymore’ — Lavrov confirms Russia has no interest in Ukraine ceasefire
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has confirmed that Moscow has no interest in negotiations and agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Lavrov described the U.S.-led push for a full, 30-day truce as a “let’s have a ceasefire and then we’ll see” tactic. Lavrov also accused European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, of pushing Trump to tighten sanctions against Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has confirmed that Moscow has no interest in negotiations and agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying on May 21 that “we don’t want this anymore.”
Describing the U.S.-led push for a full, 30-day truce as a “let’s have a ceasefire and then we’ll see” tactic, Lavrov insisted the “root causes” of the war need to be resolved first.
“We have already been in these stories, we don’t want this anymore,” Lavrov said, referring to failed negotiations between Moscow and Ukraine following the onset of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022.
U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a full ceasefire in March. Ukraine immediately agreed and the initiative has been backed by Kyiv’s European allies.
Russia has consistently refused, culminating in a phone call on May 19 between Trump and Vladimir Putin, during which the Russian president once again rejected the proposal, instead insisting on negotiating a “memorandum regarding a potential future peace treaty.”
Trump briefed European leaders on the contents of the call, telling them that Putin is not ready for peace in Ukraine because he believes he is winning the war, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 22.
The same European leaders were reportedly seemed “surprised” that Trump was “relatively content” with what he heard from Putin, Axios reported on May 20.
During a talk with students at a Russian university, Lavrov also accused European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, of pushing Trump to tighten sanctions against Russia.
Russia initiated peace talks with Ukraine, which took place on May 16, following Moscow’s rejection of calls from Ukraine and its allies for an immediate ceasefire.
The talks were largely inconclusive. Russia announced its delegation would consist of low-level officials, led by Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky. Moscow reiterated maximalist demands, including that Ukraine accept the loss of Crimea and four eastern regions.
Putin did not attend the Istanbul peace talks on May 16, despite an invitation from President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet him face-to-face.
Lavrov was also absent from the peace talks, signalling Russia’s unwillingness to make progress at the Istanbul negotiations.