'Freeze' in Ukraine war may be close, Tusk says, as US plans Putin talks

A "freeze" in the war in Ukraine may be close, the Polish prime minister said yesterday, as the White House and the Kremlin push forward with discussions for a high-level summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the coming days.

- Andrew Roth

Donald Tusk made the remarks after speaking to the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has communicated with Trump and European leaders in recent days as the White House continues to try to broker an end to the war.

"There are certain signals, and we also have an intuition that perhaps a freeze in the conflict - I don't want to say the end, but a freeze in the conflict - is closer than it is further away," Tusk said during a news conference. "There are hopes for this."

Tusk said Zelenskyy was "very cautious but optimistic" about the ceasefire, Reuters reported. Ukraine was keen that Poland and other European countries play a role in planning for a ceasefire and an eventual peace settlement, Tusk said.

Trump has said he is willing to meet Putin one on one without preconditions, including direct negotiations between Putin and Zelenskyy, stoking fears that Ukraine may be left out of discussions for the framework of a potential ceasefire.