Trump is pushing to end the war in Russia

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Leo meets with the U.S. and European leaders in Rome on Monday for the end of the Ukrainian war in Ukraine

Since his election, Leo has signaled a deep interest in ending the war. He said in his address last week that he wants peace in Ukranian and for all prisoners of war to be freed. He added that children should be returned to their families. He did not specify which Ukrainian children were taken to Russia against the wishes of their families since the war began.

The search for peace in Ukraine has gathered pace in recent weeks. Delegations from the two sides held their first direct talks in Turkey on Friday and later agreed on a prisoner exchange.

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with top U.S. officials and European leaders in Rome on Sunday, part of stepped-up diplomatic efforts ahead of a high-stakes phone call Monday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy spoke with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he had spoken both to Zelenskyy and to Rubio on the sidelines of the new pope’s inauguration.

“My firm impression is that both the Europeans and the Americans are determined to work together, but now also in a goal-oriented manner, to ensure that this terrible war ends soon,” Merz told reporters in Rome.

On Saturday, Zelensky said that he met with the prime minister of Canada and Swiss president in Rome to discuss how to increase pressure on Russia to end the war.

The intensified diplomacy came as Russia launched its largest drone barrage against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years failed to yield a ceasefire.

Putin spurned Zelenskyy’s offer to meet face-to-face in Turkey after he himself proposed direct negotiations — although not at the presidential level — as an alternative to a 30-day ceasefire urged by Ukraine and its Western allies, including the U.S.

Russian Air Force Drone Attack on Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and other Crime-Against Regions in Ukraine

The Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired a total of 273 exploding drones and decoys. Of those, 88 were intercepted and a further 128 lost, likely having been electronically jammed. The attacks targeted the country’s Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

The barrage was the biggest attack on drones by the Ukrainian Air Force since the start of the invasion, according to Ihnat.

Kyiv regional Gov. Mykola Kalashnyk said a a 28-year-old woman was killed in a drone attack on the region and three other people, including a 4-year-old child, were wounded.

MOSCOW — President Trump has been working the phones on Monday, holding calls with the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and European countries as he continues efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

On social media this weekend, Trump said he would discuss how to stop the “bloodbath” between Russia and Ukraine and hoped Monday would have been a productive day. Vice President Vance said Monday before the calls that talks were at an “impasse” and the U.S. was “more than open to walking away.”

The White House press secretary on Monday said that President Trump had grown very frustrated with both sides of the conflict, but that he was keeping his options open.

Putin insisted that Moscow was able to meet military objectives in a interview with state television. The security for residents of territories of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed would be included in that.

Should Trump fail to convince Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire, European leaders urged Trump to join them in imposing an endgame round of additional sanctions on Russian energy and banking.

The Russian military can continue at a certain point. Sanctions are inflicting harm but this harm is not critical for macro-economics of Russia,” Ivan Timofeev, head of the Russian International Affairs Council, said, noting the Russian army is making slow but steady gains.