Could Trump’s call end the Russia-Ukraine war?

US President-elect Donald Trump isn’t wasting any time. He is taking swift action towards his goal of ending the war in Ukraine in a short period of time. On Sunday, it became public that he had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. It was the first such communication between the two leaders since Trump’s election victory.

During the conversation, Trump called for immediate de-escalation of tensions with Putin. According to a Washington Post report, “Trump spoke with the Russian president from his Florida resort and asked him not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington’s significant military presence in Europe,” said a source familiar with the details of the conversation, who spoke on condition of anonymity. for discussing a sensitive matter.

Several sources confirmed that the focus of the call was “establishing peace on the European continent”. The conversation ended on a positive note with their plans for future negotiations aimed at “resolving the war in Ukraine as soon as possible.”

Transition period

The Washington Post also reported that Ukraine had been notified of the call and had not objected to it. However, the Zelensky government later rejected this claim.

“Reports that the Ukrainian side received advance notice of the alleged call are false. As a result, Ukraine could not even support or oppose the call” – said Heorhii Tykhyia spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

The Washington Post also emphasized that the Trump transition team currently afraid of leaks:

Trump’s first calls with world leaders are not supported by translators from the State Department and the US government. The Trump transition team has not yet signed an agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA), which is standard procedure for presidential transitions.

Trump and his advisers have been distrustful of career government officials since the leaks of presidential phone transcripts during his first term.

“They’re just calling (Trump) directly,” said one person familiar with the details of the calls.

What about Ukraine?

Currently, some hardline leaders of the Zelenskyi government and NATO are seriously worried that the future Trump White House will force Ukraine into a “bad deal”. Or something that pressures Kiev to give up about 20% of its territory. They oppose any move that the Kremlin might interpret as a “Russian victory.”

One of the proposed plans that is getting the most attention within Trump’s team would be an indefinite “freeze” on the eastern front lines. Which would allow for an immediate ceasefire and an 800-mile demilitarized zone overseen by European peacekeepers.

Peace would also be ensured if Ukraine agreed to suspend its NATO accession aspirations for twenty years. That buffer zone, according to initial reports, would not include US troops, as described by Trump officials.

There was also a short exchange of views on the issue of the area…

SCOOP: Trump had a phone call with Vladimir Putin and talked about the war in Ukraine, including a brief discussion on territory, marking the first conversation between the two men since Trump won the election. Our report w/ @nakashimae @jdawsey1 @siobhan_ogrady @ikhurshudyan pic.twitter.com/h1aOZKIY4C

— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) November 10, 2024

Regardless of whether the hoped-for cease-fire, which could save countless lives, materializes, the fact that Trump and Putin are already negotiating could appear as a negative in the eyes of those who sought to escalate the war from the beginning. The same pro-war supporters even condemned French President Emmanuel Macron when he tried to find a way out to Putin with a series of phone calls at the beginning of the war.

The Russian war

Meanwhile on the Eastern Front:

Military bloggers reported Friday that Russian forces are closing in on capturing a major city on Ukraine’s eastern front as part of a western push to fully capture the Donbass region.

Bloggers from both sides reported that Russian forces had entered the village of Sontsivka and were advancing towards the town of Kurakhove from the northwest.

“Currently, the Kurakhovo and Pokrovsk directions are the most difficult,” declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a weekend evening video message.

The world is seeing Ukrainian forces suffering casualties and Russia preparing to take full control of Donetsk. So it is indeed long overdue for Washington to do everything it can to reduce tensions, end the conflict, and ultimately find a permanent peaceful solution.