Trump, Putin discuss Ukraine ceasefire as skepticism deepens in Kyiv

Kyiv greeted the latest Trump-Putin phone call with the kind of weary skepticism that has settled over Ukraine after more than a year of headline-making diplomacy and little change on the battlefield. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke for more than 1.5 hours on April 29 about the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, but for many Ukrainians the conversation sounded like another round of great-power theater that has not moved the country any closer to peace.

According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin used the call to propose a temporary ceasefire around Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, 2026. Trump later said he backed the idea of a “little bit of a ceasefire” and said he expected an agreement on Ukraine might come “relatively quickly.” He also said his last publicly reported call with Putin had been on March 9, 2026. In the same remarks, Trump claimed Ukraine was “militarily defeated,” without offering evidence.

The reaction in Ukraine was closer to a shrug than a breakthrough. In Kyiv and other cities, residents have increasingly said they do not trust Trump’s shifting position on the war, noting that his words have not been matched by the sanctions or sustained pressure many Ukrainians and European allies say would be needed to force Moscow to compromise. Liudmyla Shelukh and Nina Lytvynenko were among those reflecting the broader mood of distrust, as the latest call followed a familiar pattern: dramatic contact at the top, little visible movement on the ground.

That skepticism has hard backing. Russia has repeatedly violated earlier limited truces, including an Orthodox Easter ceasefire that Ukraine says produced more than 400 violations. Moscow also previously announced a similar three-day Victory Day truce in 2025 that Ukraine did not accept. Russia has rejected Kyiv’s demand for an unconditional ceasefire along current front lines, even as Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities continue.

The stakes remain stark. Russia occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory, the war is now in its fourth year, and Ukraine has not reversed Russia’s incremental advances for more than a year. Victory Day carries heavy symbolic weight in Moscow, where May 9 marks the defeat of Nazi Germany. This year, Russia is scaling back its annual Red Square parade and says no military equipment will be used, a sign that the ritual of strength is being pared back even as the war grinds on.