Trump is going after Putin

As announced, today he will talk with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine - Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, about, as he said, "stopping the bloodshed" and ending the war in Ukraine, Blic reported.

Trump is preparing for key talks

The US President stated that the call will be held at 10 a.m. Washington time, or 4 p.m. Serbian time.

After that, Trump will talk to the Ukrainian president and the leaders of some NATO countries.

Ahead of the talks, Putin repeated his demand that any peace agreement with Ukraine should "eliminate the causes that caused this crisis" and "guarantee Russia's security".

"I hope it will be a productive day, that there will be a ceasefire and that this very violent war, a war that should never have happened, will end," Trump stressed.

Whether this conversation will really be as productive as Trump expects, or whether Putin will once again indirectly mock the moves of Washington and Kyiv, depends on several factors, but mostly on the position taken by the American president, Blic further states.

"Listen, nothing is going to happen until Putin and I meet," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, although he faced criticism for not taking a tough stance on Putin, who refused to appear for direct talks in Istanbul.

Exactly what happened at those talks should force the American president to increase the pressure on Russia.

"We don't want war, but we are ready to fight for a year, two, three - as long as it takes. We have fought with Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?" Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky allegedly said.

Far from offering a compromise, the Russians reportedly demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four regions they had partially captured and the capitulation of two more, just in case.

Ukrainian negotiators said that there was also a "terrifying moment when the Russians threatened like gangsters".

• At negotiations, Russians burst out laughing at Ukraine's claims; "Let's not turn this into a science fiction"

"Maybe some of those sitting here at this table will lose more of their loved ones, but Russia is ready to fight forever," Medinsky said.

For Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister, it was personal. Max, his 23-year-old cousin, lost his life fighting the Russians in 2022, not long after the invasion began.

Can Trump crush Putin

As the talks with Trump approach, Putin remains hostile to Western efforts to end this war through a ceasefire and negotiations. According to analysts, Trump is letting him get away with it.

• "Vladimir, it's time, as soon as possible"; A response from the Kremlin arrived

Even "Fox News", Trump's personal satellite in America, wonders what it brings. In the last interview with Trump, the presenter asked the American president practically 10 times if he could finally put pressure on Putin.

He avoided the answer to this question by talking about the money he made on the Middle East tour, Biden and Iran. But he never gave a direct answer to the question.

Ahead of the talks on Monday, which is considered the new "D-Day", US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Russia is preparing a document that will outline the demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine, which would lead to negotiations for a permanent peace.

Rubio stated in an interview with "CBS" that the Ukrainian side will work on its own proposal and expressed the expectation that the proposals will be made quickly in order to continue the negotiations.

Rubio pointed out that it will be good if both sides make proposals in the next few days and if they are realistic and rational in their approach.

He assessed that a direct conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would have a favorable effect on the progress of the negotiations and expressed the expectation that this will happen soon.