Trump described his call with Putin as “lengthy and highly productive” and thanked Putin “for his time and effort," emphasising their shared desire to halt the fighting without saying a word that it was Russia which sent troops into Ukraine.

Almost three years after Russia invaded its neighbor Ukraine, talks are to begin to end the bloody and destructive war that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

President Trump says he has had talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, telling the New York Post that the two leaders have spoken and he’d “better