Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone Saturday with his US counterpart Donald Trump, urging him to negotiate peace in Ukraine following the reach of a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip. “I congratulated POTUS on his success and the Middle East deal he was able to secure, which is an outstanding achievement,” Zelenskyy posted on his official account on Facebook. “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well – including the Russian war,” he added.

According to Qatar News Agency, Zelenskyy outlined that he discussed with President Trump the opportunities to bolster Ukrainian air defense, including good options and valuable ideas about ways to strengthen the Ukraine-US relationship realistically. This move came at a time when the US President has been striving to bring the war between Moscow and Kyiv to a close as quickly as possible in what is the worst conflict Europe has witnessed since WWII. The mediation efforts reached their peak with the Trump-Putin Summit on Aug. 15, 2025, in Alaska, followed three days later by a meeting with Zelenskyy alongside a group of European allies in the White House.

However, the two parties’ postures remain sharply divergent, with negotiations stalled. Over recent weeks, Trump expressed growing dismay toward the Russian President, with Putin accusing Europe of putting hitches in front of settling the conflict in Ukraine and working to permanently escalate the conflict. Early next week, a Ukrainian delegation led by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will head to the US to hold talks germane to imposing additional sanctions on Moscow, in addition to discussing issues related to energy and providing air defense to Ukraine.