Residents of Kyiv closely monitored meetings between Zelenskyy, Trump, and European leaders, as the US president hopes for talks with Putin to end the war in Ukraine.View on euronews

U.S. President Donald Trump says he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun to arrange a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a critical step toward bringing a possible end to Russia's war on Ukraine.

President Donald Trump said he’s begun arrangements for a face-to-face meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a pathway to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE BILATERAL: President Donald Trump announced yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would hold a bilateral meeting in the coming days. That would be followed by a trilateral meeting with Trump and those two leaders. Trump held a summit with Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Asked in an interview "what kind of assurance" there is that US troops won't be involved in Ukraine after the war, Trump said "You have my assurance."

In the aftermath of their talks, Trump and Zelenskyy remain hopeful for peace, yet doubt lingers over Putin's intentions as Ukraine sustains heavy bombardment.

Zelenskyy and Trump expressed hopes that talks with Ukrainian and European leaders at the White House could lead to trilateral talks with Putin to bring an end to his war on Ukraine.

President Donald Trump pledged to help protect Ukraine during his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Aug. 18. The Post’s Cat Zakrzewski explains.