Trump and Putin end phone call after two hours, White House says - The American leader spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky beforehand

Republican lawmakers are urging President Trump to take a much tougher line against Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine, arguing that Putin is not serious about peace.

A two-hour-plus call was an eyebrow-raising shift in both substance and tone from Donald Trump: there was no demand for Vladimir Putin to sign onto an immediate cease-fire. And the White House was pulling back from its efforts to halt the fighting.

Pope Leo XIV has confirmed his willingness for the Vatican to host the next round of Ukraine peace talks, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said."Finding in the Holy Father confirmation of the readiness to host the next talks between the parties in the Vatican,

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for more than two hours Monday, after the White House said the U.S. leader has grown ''frustrated" with the war in Ukraine. Trump planned a separate call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in hopes of making progress toward a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump is expected to head to Capitol Hill on Tuesday as he continues pushing Congress to pass his "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which narrowly passed a House committee vote on Sunday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to brief reporters on Monday morning. The briefing is scheduled shortly before President Trump is scheduled to speak with Russian

President Trump said ceasefire negotiations would begin "immediately," but the Kremlin has expressed little eagerness for a ceasefire in the war it began.

A source close to the White House told The Post Thursday there are no plans yet for any sitdown between Trump and Putin.

For days, President Donald Trump repeatedly floated the possibility of scrapping his Middle East travel schedule — one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — and adding a stop to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey.