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 Donald Trump held a high-stakes call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, the latest in a series of high-level meetings and negotiations as the Trump administration and international allies seek an end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has withstood pressure for an immediate cease-fire as a precondition for peace talks, but the Russian president’s push for normalizing relations with the United States appears in limbo.

President Trump said the tone and spirit of his two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday about the war in Ukraine were "excellent," and Russia and Ukraine will "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire.

The president announced that “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War.”

President Donald Trump spoke with reporters in the Oval Office Monday about his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day, telling the press, there are "very big egos involved,

Trump and Russia’s Putin spoke as Ukraine and Europe push for a ceasefire. For context: Russia and Ukraine engaged in direct talks last week for the first time since the war began — but the negotiations were short-lived and resulted only in a prisoner swap.