"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," President Trump posted on social media Friday, after his envoy and the Russian ruler met in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters later in the day that there's work to be done before Russia officially agrees to a ceasefire in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Nevertheless, the president expressed solidarity with Trump's position," Peskov said. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mixed wariness with a bit of hope.
"Putin will not end the war on his own," Zelensky said on social media. "But the strength of America is enough to make it happen." In his Thursday night speech to the nation, Zelensky brought up the details of what NBC News calls Putin's "emphatic 'yes, but'" response to the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. "Putin often does this—he does not say 'no' directly, but he does it in such a way that practically everything only delays it and makes normal decisions impossible," Ukraine's president said. Not long after Putin's comments, Russia fired 27 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's military said. One hit a civilian hospital.
Trump also posted that he'd appealed to Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian troops he said are "completely surrounded by the Russian military, and in a very bad and vulnerable position." He said the situation risks becoming a "horrible massacre," the likes of which has not been seen since World War II, per the BBC. Putin answered that the troops in Kursk will be treated well if they surrender. Ukraine said its troops aren't surrounded anywhere, calling the account "false and fabricated." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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