![Trump says he’s spoken with Putin as Russia’s war in Ukraine approaches third anniversary](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/trumpputin020825.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_800,c_fill)
Trump says he’s spoken with Putin as Russia’s war in Ukraine approaches third anniversary
CNN
President Donald Trump announced in an interview published Saturday that he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Donald Trump announced in an interview published Saturday that he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He wants to see people stop dying,” Trump told the New York Post. It was not immediately clear when the leaders spoke or if they had spoken since Trump took office in January, and how many times. CNN has reached out to the National Security Council for clarification. Trump said in the interview he “better not say” how many times he had spoken with Putin but touted a “good relationship” with his Russian counterpart. The US president expressed hope that Putin’s war in Ukraine, which is approaching its third anniversary, ends “fast.” He had previously vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office. “I hope it’s fast. Every day people are dying. This war is so bad in Ukraine. I want to end this damn thing,” he told the New York Post.
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Elon Musk acknowledged Tuesday that there might not have been a federal plan to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza – two weeks after the White House press secretary told the false story at an official briefing and more than a week after the president baselessly doubled the phony figure to $100 million.
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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the war between Ukraine and Russia “must end,” that Kyiv joining NATO is unrealistic, and that the US will no longer prioritize European and Ukrainian security as the Trump administration shifts its attention to securing the US’ own borders and deterring war with China.