Mr. Trump backed off his demand that Russia declare an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, instead endorsing Mr. Putin’s call for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Putin made it clear ...

US President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social platform that Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire. Describing his conversation with President Putin as ...

The first direct Ukraine-Russia talks did not deliver a ceasefire but it did result in the largest prisoner swap of the war. CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine — For hours Friday, a crowd of hopefuls stood on the roadside wrapped in blue-and-yellow flags and clutching photos of captured Ukrainian soldiers — their eyes peeled for any sign of buses.

Russian negotiators at peace talks in Istanbul demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of all the Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow before they would agree to a ceasefire, a senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks told Reuters.