The White House had originally made a Putin meeting with Zelenskyy a precondition for the Trump-Putin encounter, but Trump later dropped this requirement.
On 1 April, Russian forces launched only missiles, making a pause in massive drone strikes for the first time in 2025. On the battlefield, Russian forces are having difficulty capturing Ukrainian territory, marking their slowest progress in months. However, military experts doubt that complete ceasefire between Ukraine and Russian will be reached in three weeks.
"Ukraine is a constitutional democracy and its governance is determined by the Constitution and the Ukrainian people," emphasized State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
The US President confirmed he will speak directly with Russian President on 18 March, focusing on efforts to secure a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that Kyiv has already accepted.