After a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, President Donald Trump announced that ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would begin immediately.
In a statement following the call, Trump said he believes the call &#8220;went very well&#8221; and that the &#8220;tone and spirit of the conversation was excellent.&#8221;
&#8220;Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114535693441367601">said</a>. &#8220;The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.&#8221;
Trump added that once the &#8220;bloodbath&#8221; ends, there will be opportunities for Russia to do &#8220;largescale&#8221; trade with the United States and have &#8220;tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth.&#8221;
Trump said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of Germany, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb immediately after his call with Putin.
Trump said that the Vatican, &#8220;as represented by&#8221; Pope Leo XIV, &#8220;has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations.&#8221;
After the call, Putin spoke to reporters on-camera and described the call as “very frank” and very useful.”
“The US president expressed his position on the cessation of hostilities, ceasefire, and from my end, I have emphasized that Russia stands for peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis,&#8221; Putin said. &#8220;We just need to outline the most effective routes of moving towards peace.&#8221;
Ahead of the call, Russia launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine with exploding drones and decoys, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-call-putin-bid-end-russias-bloodbath-war-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News reported</a>. Eighty-eight drones were reportedly intercepted, and 128 were lost in the attack on the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions.
Trump has supported a ceasefire between the two sides, though Russia has pushed for an agreement to end the war with Ukraine making concessions. Trump has grown frustrated with both Putin and Zelensky in his efforts to bring the war to an end.
“He’s grown weary and frustrated with both sides of the conflict,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday before the call. “He has made it clear to both sides that he wants to see a peaceful resolution and ceasefire as soon as possible.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-confronts-zelensky-on-christian-persecution-and-conscription-in-exclusive-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEN SHAPIRO CONFRONTS ZELENSKY ON CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AND CONSCRIPTION IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW</a>
Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-and-vance-clash-with-zelensky-in-fiery-white-house-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JD Vance</a> said there has been “a bit of an impasse” in the talks and that the United States is “more than willing to walk away.”
“President Putin…he doesn’t quite know how to get out of the war,” Vance said. “There is fundamental mistrust between Russia and the West. It’s one of the things that the president thinks is frankly stupid that we should be able to move beyond the stakes that have been made in the past. But it takes two to tango. I know the president is willing to do that but if Russia is not willing to do that, then eventually we will have to say ‘this is not our war.’”
Trump announced the call on Saturday, stating that he planned to talk about “stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week.”
“Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;God bless us all!!!&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-and-rubio-put-america-first-in-100-days?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Trump+And+Rubio+Put+America+First+In+100+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS</a>
Last week, Zelensky <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-lands-in-turkey-as-putin-skips-meeting-russia-calls-him-a-clown-and-loser?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zelensky+Lands+In+Turkey+As+Putin+Skips+Meeting%2C+Russia+Calls+Him+A+%E2%80%98Clown+and+Loser%E2%80%99" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled to Turkey</a> in the hopes of having a face-to-face conversation with Putin. When Putin did not show up, the two leaders&#8217; underlings met and successfully negotiated a prisoner swap of 1,000 people from each side, though no agreement on peace was made, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/05/19/trump-putin-call-ceasefire-agreement?utm_campaign=editorial&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Axios</a>. The meeting was the first direct negotiations between the two sides since March 2022.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-tells-ben-shapiro-hes-open-to-an-audit-on-how-ukraine-spends-u-s-taxpayer-dollars?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zelensky+Tells+Ben+Shapiro+He%E2%80%99s+Open+To+An+Audit+On+How+Ukraine+Spends+U.S.+Taxpayer+Dollars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZELENSKY TELLS BEN SHAPIRO HE’S OPEN TO AN AUDIT ON HOW UKRAINE SPENDS U.S. TAXPAYER DOLLARS</a>
On Sunday, leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy urged Trump to sanction Putin if he doesn’t agree to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire, Axios reported.
Trump has said that the war “has to stop.”
“We spent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-lands-in-turkey-as-putin-skips-meeting-russia-calls-him-a-clown-and-loser">$350 billion there</a> — just handed,” he said. “Nobody even knows where the money is. There’s no accounting.”
Trump added that Zelensky is the “greatest salesman, maybe in history” because “every time he came to the United States, he’d walk away with $100 billion.”
“That’s a good salesman, right?” Trump added. “Last time he didn’t do as well. He only got $60 billion.”

Argentina G20 Leaders’ Summit 2018 – Day 1 Of Sessions

Trump Makes Big Announcement Following  ‘Very Frank’ Two-Hour Call With Putin

Donald Trump

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would like to set up a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin &#8220;as soon&#8221; as possible.
Trump made the comments in Abu Dhabi as he prepared to return home to the United States at the end of his Middle East tour. He had previously floated a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin in Turkey, but the Russian president refused to attend.
&#8220;They all said Putin was going and Zelensky was going. And I said, If I don&#8217;t go, I guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn&#8217;t go,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And I understand that, but we&#8217;re going to get it we&#8217;re going to get it done. We&#8217;ve got to get it done. Five thousand young people are being killed every single week on average, and we&#8217;re going to get it done.&#8221;
While Ukrainian and Russian officials are meeting in Turkey on Friday, Trump said he believed he would have to meet with Putin to make real progress toward ending the war.
Trump said that he plans to meet Putin &#8220;as soon as we can get it set up,&#8221; noting that he had planned to meet with Putin and Zelensky after wrapping up his visit to the United Arab Emirates. He added that he wanted to go back to America to see his new grandson, whom his daughter, Tiffany, gave birth to on Thursday.
&#8220;I do want to see my beautiful grandson, a son, and we&#8217;ll be doing that, but I will, I will tell you that the world is a much safer place right now,&#8221; Trump told reporters. &#8220;And I think in two or three weeks we could have it be a much, much safer place. We&#8217;re going to handle a couple of situations that you have here. We have some very serious situations.”
Zelensky and Ukrainian negotiators are meeting in Istanbul with Putin&#8217;s representatives for talks supervised by Turkish Defense Minister Hakan Fidan. While it will be the first talks between the warring nations since 2022, American officials don&#8217;t expect much to come from the meeting.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it&#8217;s abundantly clear that the only way we&#8217;re going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,&#8221; Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

U.S. President Donald Trump in Abu Dhabi

After Putin Blows Off Peace Talks, Trump Gives Timeline For Meeting With Russian Prez

Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Turkey today for what he hoped would be face-to-face negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, he was met with Putin&#8217;s underlings.
On Sunday, Putin first proposed direct talks with Ukraine to bring the three-year war to a close during a televised address.
“We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,&#8221; Putin said. &#8220;We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-trump-and-rubio-put-america-first-in-100-days?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Trump+And+Rubio+Put+America+First+In+100+Days" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS</a>
Zelensky <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-offers-meet-putin-after-trump-pushes-historic-peace-talks?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zelensky+Agrees+To+Meet+Putin+After+Trump+Pushes+For+Historic+Peace+Talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded by challenging</a> Putin to come to Istanbul himself for a face-to-face meeting.
“We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,” Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1921611690891940116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. “There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.”
Instead, Russia sent aides to negotiate with the Ukrainian leader, who described them as “stand-in props,” <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c74nxrr7mwkt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported the BBC</a>.
In response, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said “A clown and a loser is talking about respected people.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ben-shapiro-confronts-zelensky-on-christian-persecution-and-conscription-in-exclusive-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BEN SHAPIRO CONFRONTS ZELENSKY ON CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AND CONSCRIPTION IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW</a>
Russia&#8217;s delegation will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, but meetings are still not officially scheduled, according to the BBC.
So far, Zelensky has met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.
President Donald Trump also said he was skipping the meetings because of scheduling conflicts, despite <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-middle-east-trip?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here%E2%80%99s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Trump%E2%80%99s+Middle+East+Trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floating the possibility</a> of attending earlier this week.
Trump said he doesn’t think it “was possible for Putin to go” if he himself wasn’t there.
&#8220;I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going?&#8221; Trump said, speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar during his four-day Gulf tour.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-middle-east-trip?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Here%E2%80%99s+What+You+Need+To+Know+About+Trump%E2%80%99s+Middle+East+Trip" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST TRIP</a>
The President added that the war “has to stop.”
&#8220;We spent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/zelensky-tells-ben-shapiro-hes-open-to-an-audit-on-how-ukraine-spends-u-s-taxpayer-dollars?author=Kassy+Akiva&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Zelensky+Tells+Ben+Shapiro+He%E2%80%99s+Open+To+An+Audit+On+How+Ukraine+Spends+U.S.+Taxpayer+Dollars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$350 billion there</a> — just handed,” he said. “Nobody even knows where the money is. There’s no accounting.”
Trump added that Zelensky is the “greatest salesman, maybe in history” because “every time he came to the United States, he’d walk away with $100 billion.”
“That’s a good salesman, right?&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Last time he didn’t do as well. He only got $60 billion.&#8221;
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is already in Istanbul for meetings with his NATO counterparts and he and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were planning to be present for the Russia-Ukraine talks.

COMBO-RUSSIA-UKRAINE-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-CONFLICT-WAR

Zelensky Lands In Turkey As Putin Skips Meeting, Russia Calls Him A ‘Clown and Loser’

Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited President Donald Trump to join in peace talks with Russia later this week.
Officials from Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet in Turkey on Thursday to begin peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Ahead of the summit, Zelensky posted on social media that Russian President Vladimir Putin had rejected offers of a ceasefire.
“Ukraine has always supported diplomacy. I am ready to come to Türkiye. Unfortunately, the world still has not received a clear response from Russia to the numerous proposals for a ceasefire,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X. “[Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] has expressed full readiness to host the meeting. It is important that President Trump fully supports the meeting, and we would like him to find an opportunity to come to Türkiye.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Ukraine has always supported diplomacy. I am ready to come to Türkiye. Unfortunately, the world still has not received a clear response from Russia to the numerous proposals for a ceasefire.
Russian shelling and assaults continue. Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the… <a href="https://t.co/4AGiLX5Sdf">pic.twitter.com/4AGiLX5Sdf</a>
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1921997432231231499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
Asked earlier on Monday about whether he would attend the peace talks, Trump said he might attend if his presence is needed to move the negotiations forward.
“I think you may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said. “I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday – I’ve got so many meetings. But I was actually thinking about flying over there. There’s a possibility if I think things can happen. But we got to get it done.”
Putin and Zelensky agreed to meet in Turkey for peace talks after Putin rejected another offer from Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire over the weekend. Putin countered the offer with a restart to peace talks, with Turkey’s Erdoğan as host. Trump took to Truth Social to push Zelensky to accept the offer.
“Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114490093180275292" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a>. “At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”
Trump appeared to warn Putin in the message, as well.
“I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War II, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America,” Trump said. The president has previously expressed frustration at Moscow for appearing recalcitrant in making progress toward peace.
Last week, Trump <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/ukraine-war-briefing-trump-calls-for-ideally-a-30-day-ceasefire-backed-with-sanctions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> for a 30-day ceasefire in fighting and suggested that the United States and its allies may punish the offending party with sanctions if no ceasefire is agreed to.

Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky

Zelensky Asks Trump To Join Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks In Turkey

Executive

Global Politics

Politics

President Donald Trump appears to be on the cusp of bringing the leaders of Ukraine and Russia together for a historic meeting to negotiate the end of the years-long war between their countries.
In a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114490093180275292" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> to Truth Social on Sunday, Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree on a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Turkey next week.
&#8220;President Putin of Russia doesn’t want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH. Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,&#8221; Trump said.
&#8220;At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!&#8221; he added. &#8220;I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War ll, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America. HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!&#8221;
Soon after, Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin.
&#8220;We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,&#8221; Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1921611690891940116" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X. &#8220;There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.&#8221;
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/10/ukraine-ceasefire-demand-russia-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Saturday the United States and its Western allies demanded Putin agree to a 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday or face more sanctions on Russia&#8217;s energy and banking sectors. Putin proposed a meeting in Istanbul.
<div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body type-text" data-qa="article-body">
<p class="wpds-c-heFNVF wpds-c-heFNVF-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" dir="null" data-apitype="text" data-contentid="AJORFT4SHNGFZIDWVIKJJTMH5I" data-el="text" data-scroll-pos="3" data-scroll-measured="true">“We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine … to remove the root causes of the conflict,” Putin said at a news conference, according to the newspaper. “I do not exclude that during these negotiations it will be possible to agree on some new ceasefire.”
Earlier on Sunday, Trump signaled that a breakthrough was imminent.
&#8220;A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine! Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending &#8216;bloodbath&#8217; hopefully comes to an end,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114487210304050642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;It will be a whole new, and much better, WORLD. I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens. The USA wants to focus, instead, on Rebuilding and Trade. A BIG week upcoming!&#8221;
</div>

US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky

Zelensky Agrees To Meet Putin After Trump Pushes For Historic Peace Talks

World

President Donald Trump sits down one-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome and ramps up pressure on Putin. Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis. And 100 days into Trump&#8217;s term, we ride along with ICE agents in Boston as they arrest criminal illegals.
It’s Monday, April 28, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. For the first time, Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today&#8217;s episode here:
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Of course, Morning Wire is still available wherever you get your podcasts. If you&#8217;d prefer to listen on the go, you can do so here:
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<h2>Vatican City Peace Talks, Canadian Elections</h2>
<div id="attachment_912765" style="width: 946px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912765" class="size-large wp-image-912765" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Four-Way-Convo-936x576.jpg" alt="" width="936" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Four-Way-Convo-936x576.jpg 936w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Four-Way-Convo-300x185.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Four-Way-Convo-768x473.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Four-Way-Convo-1536x945.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Four-Way-Convo-2048x1260.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 936px) 100vw, 936px" />(Photo by Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: President Trump traveled to Vatican City on Saturday for the first foreign trip of his new term, honoring Pope Francis and meeting face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders.
Before Pope Francis’s funeral began, Trump and Zelensky huddled with Britain&#8217;s Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica.  This was their first encounter since Zelensky’s contentious visit to the White House back in February, but this time there were no advisers, translators or video cameras. Zelensky called it a “very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic,” adding that he and Trump discussed a “full and unconditional ceasefire” and “reliable and lasting peace.”
Trump certainly seemed more pleased with Zelensky than before, writing on Truth Social that it was time for a high-level summit to “finish it off” — in his words, “most of the major points are agreed to.” Following that meeting, Trump also issued new warnings to Vladimir Putin. For months, Trump has been taking a more diplomatic approach with his Russian counterpart, but over the weekend the president took a rare public <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114404524335638236">shot</a> at Putin, writing on social media: “There [is] no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” 
Last week, the White House threatened to abandon the peace talks if the two sides didn’t show more willingness to negotiate, and that seemed to get things moving. On Friday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow for a three-hour meeting with Putin, which the Kremlin described as “constructive and quite useful” — in their words, the two sides had “narrowed differences.”
That same day, as a sign of their desire to make a deal, Ukraine reportedly sent the White House a new peace proposal that included a major concession — it would not demand all of its land back. In exchange, the Ukrainians are calling for guarantees of a U.S.-backed “European security contingent” to help preserve the peace. Ukraine also wants financial reparations paid for by frozen Russian assets in U.S. and European control.
Meanwhile: A snap election will determine the political future of Canada, and bilateral relations with the United States have been the leading issue. Former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned after his poll numbers cratered – many felt his public sparring with Trump was the final nail in his coffin. Now, after two months in which Trump has threatened massive tariffs on Canada, and even floats the idea of acquiring the nation as the 51st U.S. state, the election has hinged on which party will stand up to Trump most effectively — to that point, 39% of Canadians say Trump was their top concern, that’s second behind only the cost of living. In the winter, it looked like Pierre Poilievre&#8217;s Conservative party would cruise to victory, but acting Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal party has surged in the polls on a promise to fight Trump. 
<h2>Pope Francis Laid To Rest</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-912777" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Pope-Francis-Funeral-Screenshot-1020x576.jpg" alt="" width="1020" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Pope-Francis-Funeral-Screenshot-1020x576.jpg 1020w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Pope-Francis-Funeral-Screenshot-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Pope-Francis-Funeral-Screenshot-768x434.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Pope-Francis-Funeral-Screenshot-1536x868.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Pope-Francis-Funeral-Screenshot-2048x1157.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px" /></div>
Topline: The world bid farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday. With world leaders, faithful Catholics, and mourners gathering in St. Peter’s Square to honor his legacy.
The atmosphere was one of reverence and profound emotion. An estimated 250,000 people filled the square and surrounding streets, with millions more watching worldwide to pay their respects. The funeral was a blend of ancient tradition and the simplicity Pope Francis championed. During his papacy, Francis chose to live in a simple guest house rather than the papal palace. He also lived without the internet, reading only one Italian newspaper a day, and vowed to give up television 30 years ago – he kept that vow until his death. His open wooden coffin, a departure from the elaborate triple-casket tradition, lay at ground level in St. Peter’s Basilica during three days of public viewing so he could be with the people rather than above them. He also chose to be buried in his old black shoes rather than the traditional elegant red shoes.
Saturday’s Mass was led by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, whose homily called Francis “a pope among the people,” highlighting his warmth as the first pope from Latin America. He was also the first Jesuit pope. After the service, the coffin was carried in a modest procession to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where Francis was laid to rest.
The funeral was a significant diplomatic gathering, with 170 foreign dignitaries present, including dozens of heads of state. Among them were President Trump and first lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Zelensky, French President Macron, and Argentine President Javier Milei, representing Francis’ native country. European royalty, including Britain’s Prince William, Spain’s King Felipe VI, and Queen Letizia, also attended. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi was seated prominently in the front row and praised Francis as a “symbol of human fraternity.” 
The College of Cardinals will begin the process of electing a new pope next month in a conclave held inside the Sistine Chapel. A conclave typically begins 15 to 20 days after the death of the previous pope, and only cardinals under the age of 80 can vote. There are currently 135 eligible cardinals, and their first meeting is scheduled for sometime between May 6 and May 11. A strict oath of secrecy is sworn by the cardinal electors, and they are not allowed to communicate with the outside world. When they&#8217;ve reached a two-thirds majority vote, they send a signal to the world with white smoke rising from the chapel.
<h2></h2>
<h2>A Look Into Immigration Enforcement</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-912785" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ACTUAL-Morning-Wire-Ice-Story-4272025-1024x560.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="560" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ACTUAL-Morning-Wire-Ice-Story-4272025-1024x560.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ACTUAL-Morning-Wire-Ice-Story-4272025-300x164.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ACTUAL-Morning-Wire-Ice-Story-4272025-768x420.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ACTUAL-Morning-Wire-Ice-Story-4272025-1536x840.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/ACTUAL-Morning-Wire-Ice-Story-4272025-2048x1120.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Since President Trump took office nearly 100 days ago, migrant encounters at the southern border have dropped dramatically, by as much as 95%.
Daily Wire reporter Kassy Akiva recently wrapped up a six-hour ride-along with national ICE Director Todd Lyons, where she joined agents from several other federal agencies, including the FBI, to arrest criminal illegal aliens in the Boston area. Director Lyons said while his team in Boston is highly effective, there are challenges in operating in a sanctuary jurisdiction – local governments essentially provide no help and often release criminal aliens on the street without giving ICE any warning.
“While ICE had five targets to arrest during our raid, only two were captured,” Akiva told Morning Wire. “While ICE surveils these criminals for days to determine the best way to approach them, sometimes things don’t go as planned. However, the two criminal aliens arrested while I was along for the operation are what Lyons describes as “the worst of the worst.” The first, a 55-year-old from El Salvador, Miguel Chauvez, is a convicted pedophile. The second, a 68-year-old, Jose Lazaro Ayalla, who was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving an injured person or death.

MorningWire-0428_v2

Morning Brief: Trump-Zelensky Sit Down, Pope Francis Funeral & ICE Ride-Along

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Media

Morning Wire

Pope Francis

President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that he had three requirements for Russian President Vladimir Putin, all of which he expected to be met in order to stop the bloodshed and end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump spoke to the press at the airport in Morristown, New Jersey, as he prepared to board Air Force One and return to the White House after a long weekend trip that included his attendance at the funeral for the late Pope Francis as well as a one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Reporters began with questions about the meeting with Zelensky at the Vatican — which, after their highly-publicized Oval Office blowout, was much less dramatic — and Trump said that the pair had had a &#8220;good meeting.&#8221;
&#8220;We had a good meeting, it was a nice meeting — it was a beautiful meeting, I tell you , it was the nicest office I&#8217;ve ever seen,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It was a beautiful scene. He was very — he wants to do something good for his country. He thinks he&#8217;s doing a good job, he&#8217;s working hard, we&#8217;ll see what happens.&#8221;
Trump went on to say that Zelensky had told him that &#8220;he needs more weapons, but he&#8217;s been saying that for three years. He needs more weapons and we&#8217;re going to see what happens with respect to Russia because, Russia, I&#8217;ve been surprised and disappointed that they did the bombing of those places after discussions.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> on his meeting with President Zelenskyy: We had a good meeting&#8230; he wants to do something good for his country&#8230; I want to see what happens with respect to Russia because I&#39;ve been surprised and disappointed that they did the bombing of those places after discussions. <a href="https://t.co/OmkDiv0TIR">pic.twitter.com/OmkDiv0TIR</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1916635756669399412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The follow-up question moved on to Trump&#8217;s plans with regard to Russia, and a reporter asked him, &#8220;What do you want Vladimir Putin to do?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal. We have the confines of a deal, I believe,&#8221; Trump replied. &#8220;And I want him to sign it and be done with it, and just go back to life.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
REPORTER: What do you want Vladimir Putin to do?<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &quot;I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal. We have the confines of a deal, I believe.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/GAhIY6tBx2">pic.twitter.com/GAhIY6tBx2</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1916636633228619898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

President Trump Returns To White House From New Jersey

Trump Lays Out His Demands For Putin: ‘Stop Shooting, Sit Down, And Sign A Deal’

Trump Lays Out His Demands For Putin: 'Stop Shooting, Sit Down, And Sign A Deal'

A &#8220;really important week&#8221; in peace talks is coming up after President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-meets-with-zelensky-at-vatican-ahead-of-popes-funeral-very-productive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met</a> with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican over the weekend amid the funeral for Pope Francis, according to the Trump administration&#8217;s top diplomat.
Russia and Ukraine are &#8220;closer in general than they&#8217;ve been any time in the last three years&#8221; to reaching an end to their war, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/marco-rubio-says-russia-and-ukraine-both-have-to-give-something-up-for-peace-full-interview-238424645879" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet The Press,</a>&#8221; although he conceded the two sides have not yet reached a resolution.
This past week, Rubio told moderator Kristen Welker, &#8220;has really been about figuring out how close are these sides really, and are they close enough that this merits a continued investment of our time as a mediator in this regard.&#8221;
Rubio said he thinks it would be &#8220;silly&#8221; to set a specific date for a peace agreement. &#8220;I can just tell you that almost 100 days into this presidency, the president has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy to this, and we think we brought the sides closer than they&#8217;ve been in a very long time,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;But we&#8217;re not there yet, and it needs to start happening,&#8221; Rubio continued. &#8220;We need to start — I think this is going to be a very critical week. This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in, or if it&#8217;s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases, but we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We&#8217;re close, but we&#8217;re not close enough.&#8221;
The White House said the meeting at the Vatican was &#8220;very productive,&#8221; a sign of progress after an explosive <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-explodes-on-zelensky-for-making-the-worst-statement-on-the-ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confrontation</a> between Trump and Zelensky at the White House earlier this year. Trump also criticized Russia for continuing to attack Ukraine. He <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-putin-might-have-to-be-dealt-with-differently" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that Russian President Vladimir Putin needs to be “dealt with differently” moving forward. All that happened after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/apr/25/steve-witkoff-moscow-vladimir-putin-volodymyr-zelenskyy-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-talks-europe-latest-updates-news" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traveled</a> to Moscow on Friday to meet with Putin and discuss ending the war.
One major point of contention has been territory. While Zelensky <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/world/europe/ukraine-cease-fire-talks.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> that Ukraine will not &#8220;legally recognize&#8221; Russia&#8217;s occupation of Crimea, Trump <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-crimea-stay-with-russia-ukraine-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that Crimea will &#8220;stay with Russia.&#8221;
In an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6371995251112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> on &#8220;Sunday Morning Futures,&#8221; National Security Advisor Mike Waltz emphasized both Russia and Ukraine need a desire to end the war for the years-long conflict to come to a close when anchor Maria Bartiromo asked him if Zelensky understands that he&#8217;s likely not going to get more land back.
&#8220;There&#8217;s been a number of discussions of territory, of what they need to make sure that this war never continues, that it is permanent,&#8221; Waltz said. &#8220;We have talked to our European partners, who you saw the images of both Starmer from the United Kingdom and Macron from France, that Europe has to step up. I know that you have ambassador Whitaker, our new NATO ambassador, who&#8217;s fantastic coming on, on talking about how the Europeans need to take the lead in the future.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;All of those things are key parts of the discussion with both Zelensky and with Putin. And next is to drive both sides to the table, but they both have to want it. And the president has expressed his frustrations in whether both sides genuinely want to end this war. But he is determined to have the United States of America and him — I will just say this: the current leader of NATO, who was here this week, said only President Trump could break the deadlock that we saw 100 days ago under the Biden administration. And he&#8217;s done just that, starting with his call with both Putin and Zelensky just a few months ago.&#8221;
Uncertainty also rests with a rare earth minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine that has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stop-the-bloodshed-trump-says-russia-and-ukraine-are-very-close-to-peace-deal">discussed</a> for months but has yet to be finalized.
The agreement is &#8220;going to get done,&#8221; Waltz said. &#8220;The negotiators were working hard over the weekend. That is first and foremost on both [Treasury] Secretary Bessent and the president&#8217;s mind. It&#8217;s going to get done, Maria. The president is determined to make it so.&#8221;

Secretary Of State Marco Rubio

Here’s Where We Stand After Trump Met With Zelensky At The Vatican

Marco Rubio

Mike Waltz

National Security

Tim Walz

U.S.

President Donald Trump on Saturday morning criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for continuing to hit Ukraine, and suggested Putin needs to be &#8220;dealt with differently&#8221; moving forward.
The same morning, minutes before Pope Francis&#8217; funeral, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-meets-with-zelensky-at-vatican-ahead-of-popes-funeral-very-productive?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Meets+With+Zelensky+At+Vatican+Ahead+Of+Pope’s+Funeral%3A+‘Very+Productive’" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky</a> in St. Peter’s Basilica. Both sides signaled that the meeting was &#8220;good&#8221; and &#8220;productive.&#8221;
&#8220;There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,&#8221; Trump said in a Truth Social post. &#8220;It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.&#8221;
Trump added that Putin might have &#8220;to be dealt with differently, through &#8216;Banking&#8217; or &#8216;Secondary Sanctions?&#8217; Too many people are dying!!!&#8221;
Notably, 50 senators &#8212; 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans — <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senators-push-sanctions-if-russia-stalls-ukraine-peace-efforts-2025-04-01/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> a bill earlier this month that would impose additional sanctions on Russia.
<div id="attachment_912587" style="width: 849px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912587" class="wp-image-912587 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-26-at-1.20.33-PM-839x576.png" alt="" width="839" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-26-at-1.20.33-PM-839x576.png 839w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-26-at-1.20.33-PM-300x206.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-26-at-1.20.33-PM-768x528.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-26-at-1.20.33-PM-1536x1055.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-26-at-1.20.33-PM.png 1680w" sizes="(max-width: 839px) 100vw, 839px" />Truth Social: Screenshot</div>
Trump&#8217;s post also said the idea that Ukraine would get back Crimea is &#8220;ridiculous,&#8221; and slammed former President Barack Obama for allowing Russia to take the territory. Zelensky has said that he won&#8217;t recognize Russia&#8217;s control of Crimea.
&#8220;[The New York Times&#8217; Peter Baker] wrote that Ukraine should get back territory, including, I suppose, Crimea, and other ridiculous requests, in order to stop the killing that is worse than anything since World War II,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;Why doesn’t this lightweight reporter say that it was Obama who made it possible for Russia to steal Crimea from Ukraine without even a shot being fired.&#8221;
In a Time magazine article published on Friday, Trump said he would facilitate a deal between Russia and Ukraine, but noted that Putin would have liked to &#8220;take the whole thing,&#8221; referring to Ukrainian territory.
<p class="self-baseline font-graphik text-body-large text-black-coffee rich-text mb-6 focus-visible:outline focus-visible:outline-black-coffee focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2 focus-visible:shadow-focus-color text-left">&#8220;Yeah, I think Putin will [make peace],&#8221; Trump <a href="https://time.com/7280114/donald-trump-2025-interview-transcript/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;I think Putin would rather do it a different way. I think he’d rather go and take the whole thing. And I think that because of me, I believe I&#8217;m the only one that can get this thing negotiated. And I think we’re a long way. We&#8217;ve had very good talks, and we&#8217;re getting very close to a deal. And I don&#8217;t believe anybody else could have made that deal.&#8221;
On Friday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-trump-arrives-in-russia-as-ukraine-hit-by-more-strikes-top-russian-general-assassinated?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Team+Trump+Arrives+In+Russia+As+Ukraine+Hit+By+More+Strikes%2C+Top+Russian+General+Assassinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in Moscow to speak with Putin and other top Russian officials and push for a peace deal.
Putin advisers Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev said the meeting was &#8220;constructive and useful,&#8221; and brought the United States and Russia &#8220;closer together&#8221; on Ukraine and other issues, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/25/witkoff-putin-meet-moscow-trump-peace-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Axios. Additionally, Witkoff and Putin discussed the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-meets-with-zelensky-at-vatican-ahead-of-popes-funeral-very-productive?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Meets+With+Zelensky+At+Vatican+Ahead+Of+Pope’s+Funeral%3A+‘Very+Productive’" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Meets With Zelensky At Vatican Ahead Of Pope’s Funeral: ‘Very Productive’</a>

Donald Trump/Vladimir Putin

Trump Says Putin Might Have To Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

President Donald Trump and Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelensky met early Saturday in St. Peter&#8217;s Basilica at the Vatican to discuss peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
The last face-to-face meeting Trump had with Zelensky took place in February at the White House, and did not end well, with Trump saying Zelensky was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-cancels-meeting-sends-zelensky-packing-he-can-come-back-when-he-is-ready-for-peace" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not ready for peace talks</a>.
Trump and Zelensky met minutes before the start of Pope Francis&#8217; funeral, which took place at 10 a.m. Rome time and 4 a.m. Eastern. Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, drawing leaders from around the world to Rome.
The meeting <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/26/europe/zelensky-trump-talks-pope-funeral-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> lasted about 15 minutes, and Trump and Zelensky will continue such talks. The meeting this go-around, according to both sides, went more smoothly than the last face-to-face.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Behind Scenes, Vatican City—President Trump sat down to meet privately with Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine this morning in St. Peter’s Basilica… <a href="https://t.co/zzC78AgbNh">pic.twitter.com/zzC78AgbNh</a>
— Dan Scavino (@Scavino47) <a href="https://twitter.com/Scavino47/status/1916097251954278581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm9y4ze6g00023b6mu3rvhrjv@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">Zelensky said on X that they had a &#8220;good meeting&#8221; and thanked President Trump.
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm9y4zifh00063b6mykc3w9nn@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">“We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered,” Zelensky wrote. “Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you [President Trump].”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to… <a href="https://t.co/q4ZhVXCjw0">pic.twitter.com/q4ZhVXCjw0</a>
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1916089502088524203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<p class="paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph" data-uri="cms.cnn.com/_components/paragraph/instances/cm9y2sojk000c3b6mb0t99v0x@published" data-editable="text" data-component-name="paragraph" data-article-gutter="true" data-analytics-observe="off">A White House spokesman said the pair “met privately today and had a very productive discussion,&#8221; according to a CNN report.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump and Zelensky met in St. Peter’s Basilica for about 15 minutes (pictures per Team Zelensky) <a href="https://t.co/PP7iwK6qzi">pic.twitter.com/PP7iwK6qzi</a>
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) <a href="https://twitter.com/mathieuvonrohr/status/1916069398537724361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
On Friday, Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close” to a peace deal, and called for top leadership of the countries to “finish it off.”
Trump made the comments on Truth Social just as he landed in Rome for Saturday&#8217;s funeral. On the same day, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-trump-arrives-in-russia-as-ukraine-hit-by-more-strikes-top-russian-general-assassinated?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Team+Trump+Arrives+In+Russia+As+Ukraine+Hit+By+More+Strikes%2C+Top+Russian+General+Assassinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in Moscow to speak with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials and push for a peace deal.
“Just landed in Rome. A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Nothing like some tough diplomacy in one of the most beautiful places in the world. <a href="https://t.co/v23MhfVoBJ">pic.twitter.com/v23MhfVoBJ</a>
— Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelgwaltz/status/1916105166484316187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Trump also said earlier on Friday that Zelensky needs to sign a mineral deal with the United States, saying that he was “at least three weeks late.”
“Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important Rare Earths Deal with the United States,” Trump posted online. “It is at least three weeks late. Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY. Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly. SUCCESS seems to be in the future!”
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-lands-in-to-rome-for-pope-francis-funeral-heres-what-to-expect?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Mairead+Elordi&amp;category=News+and+Analysis&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Trump+Lands+In+Rome+For+Pope+Francis%E2%80%99+Funeral.+Here%E2%80%99s+What+To+Expect." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Lands In Rome For Pope Francis’ Funeral. Here’s What To Expect.</a>

Funeral Takes Place For Pope Francis

Trump Meets With Zelensky At Vatican Ahead Of Pope’s Funeral: ‘Very Productive’

Italy

Vatican

When it comes to the United States and our allies, one of the great failures of American foreign policy since the end of World War II is this bizarre idea in the United States that if our allies are imperfect, it somehow makes sense to abandon them. 
This is what we did in Vietnam. Our allies were imperfect, so we abandoned them, and then the Viet Cong took over. The same thing happened in Afghanistan, where our allies were seriously imperfect. And by imperfect, I mean there were a lot of terrible people involved in the Northern Alliance, along with tremendous corruption in Afghanistan’s government. The Taliban, it turns out, were significantly worse. 
So when it comes to determining what&#8217;s happening with Russia and Ukraine and what should happen next, the question is less about whether Ukraine is perfect. It certainly is not. The questions are: What exactly does Russia want? What is in America&#8217;s best interest?
I can tell you what is not in America&#8217;s best interest: a larger, more powerful Russia. In determining how to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war that originally broke out in 2014 with the Russian takeover of the Donbas and Crimea, and then was reignited by the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022, it&#8217;s simply not enough to try to figure out what the “rational middle ground” looks like. 
What the Trump administration is currently trying to do is find a solution. Well, you can find a solution, but unless you have a way to actually implement the solution, any solution you propose is meaningless.
No matter how hard you try, you cannot impose the solution from the outside in the way the United States would if, for example, we had boots on the ground — and we don&#8217;t want boots on the ground. That means you somehow have to get the Russians to the table. Both sides need to be at the table. The Ukrainians are at the table. Right now, however, the Russians are not at the table.
America is not the dominant force in the region, nor do we want to be. However, the Ukrainians being at the table means it&#8217;s now time for the Russians to come to the table. So, how do you get them there? 
As Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in our interview, he&#8217;s already agreed to an immediate three-day ceasefire. The Russians have not.
He&#8217;s already agreed to a rare earth minerals deal with the United States that is heavily slanted toward the United States.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2186?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
We already know what the Ukrainians want. They want the Russians to stop the war. Again, Ukrainians did not start this war — they did not cross the Russian border.
They want security guarantees, more durable security guarantees than the ones they gave in 1994 to give up their nuclear weapons. The Ukrainians want security guarantees that are material realities, not just promises.
The Ukrainians have already figured out that European and American promises tend to fade over time. They gave up their own nuclear weapons for a promise that the U.S. and the UK would respect Ukrainian territorial sovereignty, and it didn&#8217;t work out very well for them.
The Ukrainians want the freedom to pursue a closer relationship with the EU and NATO. That makes sense because the Russians continue to press while the Ukrainians want to press back the other way.
President Zelensky basically wants what happened at the end of the Korean War: an armistice. In 1953, South Korea and North Korea drew a line and created a demilitarized zone. They agreed to a cessation of hostilities and repatriation of peace. Then the war ended.
Officially, the war is still active but in practice the war ended because North Korea understands that if it crosses the South Korean border, it will be obliterated, partially because of the American troops stationed on that border.
Now, to be clear, the Ukrainians are not asking for American troops to be stationed on their border, but they&#8217;re ready for an armistice today. They do want security guarantees. We know what they want. They&#8217;re at the table.
The real question in all of this, the question that people do not want to ask, is what exactly do the Russians want? What would bring the Russians to the table?
Well, we actually know what the Russians want.
According to a speech Vladimir Putin gave last June, he wants:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">No NATO membership for Ukraine, ever.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ukrainian recognition of Crimea and Donbas as Russian territory.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ukraine&#8217;s demilitarization and what he calls “Denazification.” What he really means is he wants the installation of a puppet regime in Kyiv and the lifting of all anti-Russia sanctions.</li>
</ol>
That’s just called surrender.
Now, Ukraine can&#8217;t surrender her entire government and autonomy and live at the whim of Vladimir Putin, who has literally killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians in an aggressive war and kidnapped tens of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia.
So again, I ask, what would get Russia to the table?
Now, Steve Witkoff is supposedly a magical negotiator. President Trump has deployed him to Iran, Gaza, and now Ukraine, and seems to think that either Ukraine is the problem or that Russia can be wheedled into dropping its core demands, and that if you tweet hard enough at them, Vladimir Putin will suddenly become friendly. Witkoff and the administration are now threatening to walk away from negotiations if the two sides don&#8217;t come together.
This misses the entire point.
Russia would love for that to happen. They want the war to continue, because when Russia says they want negotiation, that&#8217;s code for they want a continuation of the war.
What they want is either to take giant chunks out of Ukraine until they eat the whole thing over time, or they want the war to continue until the West gives way.
Why? Because Ukraine is extraordinarily key to Russia&#8217;s entire vision of itself as an empire. And that empire is geared in absolutely irremediable fashion against the United States of America.

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What Exactly Does Russia Want?

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President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine were &#8220;very close&#8221; to a peace deal, and called for top leadership of the countries to &#8220;finish it off.&#8221;
Trump made the comments on Truth Social as he landed in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis. Trump&#8217;s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/team-trump-arrives-in-russia-as-ukraine-hit-by-more-strikes-top-russian-general-assassinated?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Team+Trump+Arrives+In+Russia+As+Ukraine+Hit+By+More+Strikes%2C+Top+Russian+General+Assassinated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived</a> in Moscow on Friday to speak with President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials and push for a peace deal.
&#8220;Just landed in Rome,&#8221; Trump posted on Truth Social. &#8220;A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine. They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to &#8216;finish it off.&#8217; Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!&#8221;
That post came just hours after he called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a mineral deal with the United States, saying that he was &#8220;at least three weeks late.&#8221;
&#8220;Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important Rare Earths Deal with the United States,&#8221; he posted. &#8220;It is at least three weeks late. Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY. Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly. SUCCESS seems to be in the future!&#8221;
The deal over rare earth minerals was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-says-trump-will-likely-be-done-with-ukraine-russia-peace-talks-if-no-progress-is-made-soon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed</a> to be signed months ago, but came to a standstill in February after Zelensky was asked to leave the White House following a contentious meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Last week, several Ukrainian officials signaled that the country was coming close to finalizing the agreement.
At the same time, Trump has pushed both Zelensky and Putin to stop the hostilities and come to the negotiating table. Witkoff&#8217;s arrival in Russia came after Ukraine was hit with a pair of deadly air strikes this week and Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a high-level military official, was killed in a car bombing in Balashikha.
Before Witkoff&#8217;s arrival, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sergey-lavrov-russia-urkaine-ceasefire-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CBS News that his country &#8220;ready to reach a deal&#8221; on Ukraine.
&#8220;The President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The negotiations continue, and until the end of the negotiations, we cannot disclose what it is about.&#8221;
As he was leaving for Rome, Trump <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1915758936667390137" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he thought negotiations with the two countries were &#8220;coming along,&#8221; but added that they were &#8220;very fragile&#8221; at the moment.
While en route to Rome, Trump declined to tell reporters on board Air Force One whether he would be meeting with Zelensky while at the funeral. Trump also said that he would soon be talking to Witkoff about how his meeting with Putin went and said he hadn&#8217;t heard about the car bomb assassination of Moskalik.
&#8220;He’ll be calling me,&#8221; Trump said, according to a transcript provided by the White House foreign pool service. &#8220;They just left the meeting. I haven’t been briefed yet. But, he had — I hear, a pretty good meeting.&#8221;

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‘Stop The Bloodshed’: Trump Says Russia And Ukraine Are ‘Very Close’ To Peace Deal

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