Trump Claims ‘Very Good Chance’ to End Ukraine War After Putin-Witkoff Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that White House officials had a “very good” conversation with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin the day before and suggested it could help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The White House later clarified that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, not Trump, spoke to Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s statement came after Ukraine agreed to a U.S.-brokered 30-day ceasefire during negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The Kremlin has not formally accepted the deal to pause fighting, but Putin voiced support for the proposal in principle while raising concerns over Ukrainian troops in Russia’s partially occupied Kursk region.

“There will only be two options: surrender or die,” Putin said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that Ukrainian troops captured in Kursk would be treated as “terrorists.”

Trump appeared to reference Putin’s remarks, saying he had urged the Russian leader to spare the lives of “thousands of Ukrainian troops [who] are completely surrounded by the Russian military.”

“I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all,” Trump wrote.

Following Putin’s initial reaction to the ceasefire deal, the U.S. tightened sanctions on Russia by allowing a key license for energy payments via Russian banks to expire.

The Kremlin said the timing of a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Trump would be decided after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff delivers Russia’s response to the White House.

An earlier version of this article said that Trump spoke to Putin over the phone. It was corrected following the White House’s statement.

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