Trump Offers to Join Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks as Kyiv Welcomes Proposal

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in attending proposed peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, as tensions continue to simmer despite international calls for a ceasefire, as per AL Jazeera.

Trump said on Monday that he was “thinking about actually flying over” to Istanbul, where negotiations are expected to take place on Thursday.

The initiative comes in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent proposal for direct talks with Ukraine, which followed criticism of what he described as Western “ultimatums” aimed at ending the conflict. The Kremlin has not yet responded to Trump’s offer or confirmed whether Putin will attend the talks in person.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump’s interest in participating, calling it “the right idea.”

Trump also urged Zelensky to attend the meeting, while the Ukrainian leader insisted that any negotiations must involve Putin himself.

If confirmed, the Istanbul meeting would mark the first face-to-face encounter between Zelensky and Putin since December 2019. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to say whether Putin would attend, but stressed that Moscow remained committed to a “serious search for ways of a long-term peaceful settlement.”

Meanwhile, fighting on the ground continues unabated. Ukraine’s air force reported it had intercepted and destroyed all 10 drones launched by Russia in an overnight assault—the lowest number of drones launched in recent weeks. However, Ukraine’s military said there were 133 clashes with Russian forces across the front line by 10pm local time on Monday, despite a ceasefire that European powers had called for at midnight.

Zelensky said the fiercest fighting remains concentrated in the eastern Donetsk region, with heavy clashes also occurring in Russia’s western Kursk region. Ukrainian forces previously carried out a rare cross-border raid there nine months ago.

Russia, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of launching a massive drone and artillery attack on the Belgorod region. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed Ukrainian forces used 65 drones and fired over 100 rounds of ammunition over the past day.