Trump says Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks to start immediately after two-hour call with Putin – live

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump didn’t discuss a timeline for a ceasefire in Ukraine during their two-hour phone call, but Trump stressed his interest in reaching agreements quickly, the Kremlin has said. Trump had earlier said peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would begin ‘“immediately”.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov also told reporters the two leaders talked about trading nine Russians for nine Americans in a prisoner swap as part of a discussion about improving bilateral relations.

Donald Trump is going to appear at a White House Rose Garden event at 3pm ET where he will probably take questions from the media (and no doubt face questions about his call with Putin). I’ll bring you all the key lines from that later on.

Donald Trump has said his call with Vladimir Putin “went very well” and Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire”.

In a post on Truth Social moments ago, Trump added that the Vatican had expressed interest in hosting the negotiations.

He then went on to say that Russia “wants to do large scale trade” with the US once the war is over, and that Ukraine could also benefit greatly from trade.

Trump also said he had informed Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, as well as the leaders of the EU, France, Italy, Germany and Finland, immediately after the call with Putin.

Here’s the full post:

Just completed my two hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of. The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later. Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic “bloodbath” is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is UNLIMITED. Likewise, Ukraine can be a great beneficiary on Trade, in the process of rebuilding its Country. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately. I have so informed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, President Emmanuel Macron, of France, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of Germany, and President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, during a call with me, immediately after the call with President Putin. The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!

Putin refuses to agree to ceasefire during call with Trump

Pjotr Sauer

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump held a rare phone call on Monday, but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire, despite mounting pressure from Washington.

Speaking to reporters in Sochi after the two-hour conversation, Putin described the call as “very meaningful and frank”, and said he was prepared to work with Ukraine on drafting a memorandum for future peace talks.

However, the Russian leader declined to endorse the proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire, which US officials had said was the main aim of the call.

Putin claimed Russia supported a halt to hostilities, but insisted it was necessary to “develop the most effective paths toward peace”.

Crucially, Putin repeated his longstanding refrain that the “root causes” of the war must be addressed – a reference to Russia’s maximalist demands that would undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty.

These demands include forcing Ukraine to “de-Nazify” and demilitarise, cutting back its armed forces, barring it from receiving western military support, and imposing sweeping limits on its sovereignty.

Following his call with Donald Trump earlier, Vladimir Putin has said that efforts to end the war in Ukraine are “on the right track” and that Moscow was ready to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about future peace accord.

Putin thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv, and said that Trump noted Russia’s support for peace, though the key question was how to move towards peace.

“We have agreed with the president of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord, defining a number of positions, such as, for example, the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement,” Putin told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

If appropriate agreements are reached, then there could be a ceasefire, Putin said, adding that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine “gives reason to believe that we are generally on the right track”.

I would like to note that, on the whole, Russia’s position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis. We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace.

We’re getting lines now from Russian state media that the call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has concluded.

The call lasted more than two hours and was “very informative and helpful”, according to RIA. It cites Putin as saying:

We’re generally on the right track.

Tass reports that Putin said Russia and Ukraine must agree on “compromises that suit both sides” before a ceasefire can be reached.

It also said the Russian president favors a “peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis” and is ready to work with Kyiv on a memorandum on future peace talks.

According to IFX, Putin also said the root causes of the crisis should be eliminated.

The supreme court has allowed the Trump administration to strip about 350,000 Venezuelans living in the US of a temporary protected status given under Joe Biden, Reuters reports.

The court granted the justice department’s request to lift San Francisco-based US district judge Edward Chen’s order that had halted homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate the deportation protection conferred to Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program.

Chen acted in a legal challenge by plaintiffs including some of the TPS recipients and the National TPS Alliance advocacy group, who said Venezuela remains an unsafe country.

The TPS program is a humanitarian designation under US law for countries stricken by war, natural disaster or other catastrophe, giving recipients living in the United States deportation protection and access to work permits. The designation can be renewed by the homeland security secretary.

The federal government under Biden twice designated Venezuela for TPS, in 2021 and 2023. In January, days before Trump returned to office, the Biden administration announced an extension of the programs to 2026.

Noem rescinded the extension and moved to end the TPS designation for a subset of Venezuelans who benefited from the 2023 designation. The Department of Homeland Security said about 348,202 Venezuelans were registered under that 2023 designation.

Chen ruled that Noem violated a federal law that governs the actions of agencies. The judge also said the revocation of the TPS status appeared to have been predicated on “negative stereotypes” by insinuating the Venezuelan migrants were criminals. He wrote:

Generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes.

The judge added that Venezuelan TPS holders were more likely to hold bachelor’s degrees than American citizens and less likely to commit crimes than the general US population.

The San Francisco-based ninth US circuit court of appeals on 18 April declined the administration’s request to pause the judge’s order.

Justice department lawyers in their supreme court filing said Chen had “wrested control of the nation’s immigration policy” away from the government’s executive branch, headed by Trump. They wrote:

The court’s order contravenes fundamental Executive Branch prerogatives and indefinitely delays sensitive policy decisions in an area of immigration policy that Congress recognized must be flexible, fast-paced, and discretionary.

The plaintiffs told the supreme court that granting the administration’s request “would strip work authorization from nearly 350,000 people living in the US, expose them to deportation to an unsafe country and cost billions in economic losses nationwide”.

The Trump administration in April also terminated TPS for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians in the US. Those actions are not part of the current case.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke briefly by phone with Donald Trump earlier today before the US president’s call with Vladimir Putin, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters.

Trump called Zelenskyy “for a few minutes” before his call with the Kremlin leader, the source said.

The Ukrainian president’s office did not immediately comment when asked by Reuters about the call.

Lawyers for a Guatemalan man who says he was deported to Mexico despite his fears he would be persecuted there have asked a judge to order the Trump administration to immediately facilitate his return after immigration officials acknowledged making a mistake in his case.

Reuters reports the attorneys made the request on Sunday after the justice department notified a federal judge in Boston that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information.

The justice department in a filing on Friday said that upon further investigation, officials had been unable to identify any officer with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) who actually asked the man about fears he had for his safety.

Lawyers for the man, identified in court papers only as “O.C.G.”, told US district judge Brian Murphy that despite admitting to that error, the administration was refusing to commit to allowing the man to immediately return to the US.

They urged the judge to order the government to do so, given that Murphy in a class action lawsuit OCG and other migrants filed has already blocked the administration from swiftly deporting migrants to countries other than their own without first hearing their concerns about their safety.

Lawyers for OCG say that once he was in Mexico, OCG had to choose between waiting months in detention to apply for asylum in Mexico or returning to Guatemala. He ultimately opted to go back to Guatemala, where he is in hiding, his lawyers say.

“Defendants’ admitted failure to provide O.C.G. even an oral opportunity to assert his fear is flatly contrary to their own repeated representations to the supreme court regarding what due process requires in a situation like this,” the lawyers wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Ice, and the justice department did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

It is the latest instance of the government acknowledging an error in the case of a migrant swept up in Donald Trump’s efforts to rapidly carry out mass deportations as part of his hardline immigration agenda.

Such an error occurred with Maryland resident Kilmar Ábrego García, who was deported to El Salvador in March despite an order protecting him from removal. He remains there, despite the supreme court ordering the administration to facilitate his return.

According to his lawyers, OCG is a gay man who fled Guatemala in 2024 after facing death threats based on his sexuality. He entered the United States through Mexico in May 2024.

An immigration judge in February granted him protection from being deported to Guatemala after an asylum officer found he had a reasonable fear of persecution there. Yet immigration officials then swiftly deported him to Mexico instead.

His lawyers say immigration officials sent OCG to Mexico without giving him an opportunity to express his fear of being sent there, where he likewise feared persecution after previously being kidnapped and raped in Mexico.

President Trump has accused Beyoncé and a handful of other celebrities of “an illegal election scam” for their endorsement of Kamala Harris in a social media post. Trump wrote on Truth Social:

“According to news reports, Beyoncé was paid $11,000,000 to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG! Remember, the Democrats and Kamala illegally paid her millions of Dollars for doing nothing other than giving Kamala a full throated ENDORSEMENT. THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION! BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!”

Wendy McMahon, the president and CEO of CBS News, will step down from her position due to the company and her have differing views on the path forward, Reuters reports.

McMahon, president and CEO of Paramount Global-owned CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures since 2023, said in a memo that the last few months have been challenging.

“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership,” McMahon said.

McMahon’s decision to step down comes during an ongoing legal battle between CBS and Donald Trump after the president filed a lawsuit concerning an interview the show did with Kamala Harris during the presidential campaign.

Trump ally and de facto head of the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) Elon Musk appeared to endorse a conspiracy theory about former President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis in a post on X.

Clint Russell, host of the rightwing podcast Liberty Lockdown, accused the Democrats of planning to get Biden elected into office and then have him drop out because of his diagnosis in order to have Kamala Harris step in.

“So the plan was to run Biden, lie about his cancer and dementia, get him back in the WH, and then have him immediately step aside so Kamala’s reign of terror could begin. All while trying to jail or kill DJT. Just making sure we’re all on the same page, here. These people are evil,” Russell wrote on X.

Musk posted a “bullseye” emoji in response to someone reposting the claim, appearing to endorse the conspiracy theory.

An appeals court has allowed President Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees to stand while a lawsuit plays out, reports the Associated Press.

The ruling came after the Trump administration asked for an emergency pause on a judge’s order blocking enforcement at roughly three dozen agencies and departments. The court ruled on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because Trump hasn’t ended any collective bargaining agreements yet.

The administration says the president needs the EO so he can cut the federal workforce to ensure “strong national security”. Union leaders have argued that the order is designed to facilitate mass federal firings and exact “political vengeance” against unions.

The call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is under way, the White House has confirmed, as the US president tries once again to bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end.

Trump, who will speak to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his call with Putin, sounded optimistic when posting on social media about the call on Saturday, saying: “Hopefully it will be a very productive day.”

But, Politico writes this morning:

The million-ruble question remains: How will Trump react if there’s no real progress (again) today? There are concerns inside Europe he’ll either try to force through a disastrous deal from Ukraine’s perspective, or just abandon the whole peace idea – plus US support on the battlefield – altogether.

Indeed, in a sign of growing US frustration, vice-president JD Vance earlier today acknowledged there was an “impasse” in getting Putin to agree to a ceasefire and end the war, and added that it “takes two to tango. I know [Trump’s] willing to do that, but if Russia is not willing to do that, then we’re eventually just going to say, this is not our war”.

We’ll bring you more on the call as we get it.

Joe Biden made his first public remarks on Monday morning about his cancer diagnosis, an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.

Biden wrote on social media, his first statement since his office reported the diagnosis on Sunday:

Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.

“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” Biden’s personal office said in a statement. “On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”

Biden, 82, and his family are reviewing treatment options. The cancer appears to be hormone sensitive, allowing for effective treatment, according to his office.

With less than an hour to go before the Trump-Putin call at 10am ET, JD Vance told reporters that Washington recognised there was an impasse in ending the war – and that if Moscow was not willing to engage then eventually the United States would have to say it was not its war.

Adding that he had just spoken to Trump, Vance said as he prepared to depart from Italy:

We realize there’s a bit of an impasse here. And I think the president’s going to say to President Putin: ‘Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?’”

I think honestly that President Putin, he doesn’t quite know how to get out of the war.

He said it “takes two to tango. I know the president’s willing to do that, but if Russia is not willing to do that, then we’re eventually just going to say, this is not our war.”

We’re going to try to end it, but if we can’t end it, we’re eventually going to say: ‘You know what? That was worth a try, but we’re not doing anymore.’

A meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump is not currently being prepared, Russian state news agency RIA cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Monday.

The White House has said that Trump is open to meeting with the Russian president. The two are going to speak at 10am ET and Trump will call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy when that call concludes, the White House said.

JD Vance considered traveling to Israel tomorrow but decided not to due to the expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, Axios reports citing a senior US official.

Axios writes that, according to Israeli officials, the Trump administration on Saturday informed the Israeli government that Vance was considering stopping in Israel after attending the pope’s inauguration. Additional discussions took place yesterday between US and Israeli officials to prepare for the visit, and it was soon reported in the Israeli press that Vance might arrive tomorrow. Several hours later, however, a White House official denied the reports in a statement and claimed “logistical constraints have precluded an extension of his travel beyond Rome”.

But a US official with knowledge of what actually happened during those several hours told Axios logistics weren’t the issue. The official said that while Vance was deliberating, concerns were raised that a trip to Israel at this time would be perceived by Israel and countries in the region as validation for Israel’s expanded operation in Gaza, at a time when the US is pushing for a ceasefire and hostage deal. At that point, the official said, the vice-president made the decision not to go.

Yesterday, the Israeli army announced the start of a large-scale offensive in Gaza, describing “extensive ground operations” to seize “operational control” of swaths of the devastated Palestinian territory. It came on a second day of indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar, which ended without any breakthrough.

Axios writes:

This isn’t about publicly pressuring Israel. Vance officially cited “logistical” reasons for passing on the visit. But his decision sheds light on how the US feels about the current Israeli policy in Gaza.

You can read all our coverage of the crisis here: