Trump call with Putin ends after more than two hours, White House says – latest

For a frustrated Trump, this is a high-stakes callpublished at 16:19 British Summer Time

16:19 BST

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

This is an extremely high-stakes call for President Trump, who has made ending the fighting in Ukraine one of the most important foreign policy priorities of his administration.

So far, Trump’s been unable to make any progress, and his frustration seemed to boil over into outright anger during his February Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.

In the months since then, however, Trump – who was once seemingly reluctant to criticise the Kremlin – has grown visibly exasperated with President Putin.

Just a month ago, for example, Trump took to Truth Social to “STOP”, and more recently told reporters on Air Force One that he is considering secondary sanctions if necessary.

Administration officials have expressed optimism about today’s call. But if Trump feels he is being taken advantage or believes that Putin is stalling, it could mark the beginning of a period in which we are likely to see more forcible language and actions from the White House.

Trump and others – notably JD Vance – have also suggested that the US could walk away from the peace efforts entirely if neither side is willing to come to a compromise.

That, however, would almost certainly be seen as a defeat for an administration which has repeatedly vowed to bring an end to the bloodshed.