Trump Speaks to Putin Amid 'Impasse' on Ending War in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on May 19 about peace in Ukraine after Washington said there was an impasse over ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II and that the US may have to walk away.

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MOSCOW/WASHINGTON -

Mr. Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Mr. Trump, who said he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly called for an end to the "bloodbath" in Ukraine, which his administration casts as a proxy war between the US and Russia.

Under pressure from Mr. Trump, delegates from the warring countries met last week in Istanbul for the first time since 2022, after Mr. Putin proposed direct talks and the Europeans and Ukraine demanded an immediate ceasefire.

A White House official said the call was under way. Mr. Putin was speaking from Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, while Mr. Trump was in Washington.

According to a person familiar with Mr. Putin's thinking, the Russian leader headed into the call believing he has a strong hand.

Mr. Putin is confident that his forces can break through Ukraine's defenses by the end of the year to take full control of four regions that he has claimed for Russia, said the source, who asked not to be named discussing private conversations.

That means the Russian leader is unlikely to offer any meaningful concessions to Mr. Trump when the two leaders speak, and European officials are worried that the US President may try to force through a settlement regardless.