WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke directly in a high-stakes phone call Monday as Trump pressed the Russian leader to halt what he described as the ongoing “bloodbath” in Ukraine, according to senior White House officials.
The tense exchange marked a pivotal moment in Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, as the war continues to devastate Eastern Europe. The call came just hours after Vice President JD Vance issued a sharp warning that the United States may walk away from ceasefire negotiations if Putin refuses to show genuine interest in peace.
“I think the president’s going to say to President Putin: ‘Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?’” Vance told reporters Monday morning.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt signaled Trump’s growing impatience with both sides in the conflict, saying the president is “weary and frustrated” by the prolonged war and the lack of progress toward peace.
Shortly after the call with Putin, Trump is expected to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in what officials described as a coordinated diplomatic push to bring both parties back to the negotiating table.
But that effort comes as Putin intensifies military aggression, launching what Ukrainian defense officials called the largest drone assault since the war began in 2022. Over the weekend, Russia fired a staggering 273 explosive drones across Kyiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk.
Despite Trump’s direct appeal, Putin reportedly resisted any effort to dictate terms. Speaking on Kremlin-controlled television, the Russian leader suggested Trump should respect Moscow’s sovereignty and national interests.
“The Americans — the American people and the American leadership, including the president — have their own national interests,” Putin said. “We proceed from the assumption that we will be treated the same way.”
Putin doubled down, reportedly telling Trump he intends to “finish what he started” in Ukraine, reaffirming his long-held ambition to expand Russian control over the country.
Hours before the Trump-Putin conversation, reports emerged of a failed Russian missile test involving the RS-24 Yars, a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. Ukrainian intelligence officials said no detonation was detected at the Sverdlovsk test site, suggesting the launch attempt may have failed — the latest in a series of setbacks for the Russian military.
In a concurrent show of force, Russia staged live-fire naval exercises in the Sea of Japan. The landing ship Peresvet launched Grad-M rocket salvos at targets over six miles away, while AK-176 and AK-630 artillery units and heavy machine guns targeted mock mines and aerial threats.
The exercises, while far from Ukraine, were seen as another signal to NATO and U.S. allies that Moscow remains defiant amid mounting international pressure.
As Trump attempts to bridge the chasm between Kyiv and Moscow, the stakes are escalating. With Vice President Vance signaling the U.S. may withdraw from peace efforts unless Russia alters course, Trump’s next moves could determine whether the path forward involves diplomacy — or deeper division.
