A much-hyped phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Monday was followed up by optimistic statements by the pair – but there are doubts over whether it marked any real progress towards peace in Ukraine.

In September 2022, Moscow claimed to have annexed the four Ukrainian regions and to this day it does not fully control them. Putin illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected any suggestion it would surrender the regions.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held a series of talks with European leaders, during which he discussed his recent conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. In this context, Zelensky emphasized that "it is important that America remains involved in the peace process.

Diplomatic efforts have seen little progress in halting the fighting, including Monday's phone call between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being too "afraid" to turn up for face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul, as direct negotiations erupted in accusations that Russia made "unacceptable demands".

Zelensky sends Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul, as peace talks with Russia are expected on May 16 Trump expects no progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks until he meets Putin Pro-Ukraine partisans sabotage railway track near Russia's Smolensk Ukraine shows its latest 'ship-killer' Magura drone series to the public for the first time US proposes reviving NATO-Russia Council,

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that if President Trump attended the talks, it would put pressure on Russia’s leader, Vladimir V. Putin, to meet face-to-face.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey early Thursday for scheduled peace talks, but Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show up. Zelensky hammered the Russian delegation