Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin hold phone talks

U.S. President Donald Trump also says he held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

However, Trump says the discussions would not lead to immediate peace in Ukraine.

Lee Seung-jae has more.

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday, saying he held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Trump, the two leaders discussed Ukraine's recent drone attacks against a Russian airfield, with Putin saying he was obligated to respond to the weekend attacks.

The U.S. president noted that the 75-minute-long conversation with his Russian counterpart would not immediately lead to an end to the war in Ukraine.

The phone talks between the two come as Trump said last week that he would be able to see within two weeks, whether Putin was serious about agreeing to a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, a chance at a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine seems to be getting bleaker as Putin accused Ukraine of terrorism and "disrupting" peace talks.

During a televised government meeting on Monday, Putin shot down Ukraine's call for an unconditional ceasefire, saying that Kyiv's leadership has "resorted to terrorist attacks" to intimidate Russia.

Putin said that he cannot negotiate with those "who rely on terror" or with "terrorists," adding that a break from military action would only allow Ukraine to gather more Western weapons and "prepare other terrorist attacks."

His remarks came in response to a series of explosions that allegedly caused bridge collapses in Russia over the weekend, including one that derailed a passenger train, killing seven people.

Despite this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday proposed an unconditional ceasefire with Russia, until a summit with Putin is held.

He also proposed possible venues for the meeting, including Istanbul, Switzerland and the Vatican.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.