Trump to call Putin in a bid to end Russia's 'bloodbath' war with Ukraine

"The subjects of the call will be, stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end," Trump added. "God bless us all!!!" 

Russia's defense ministry said Monday it had downed 35 Ukrainian drones overnight. 

On Friday, Russian and Ukrainian officials took part in direct talks in Turkey for the first time since the early days of the war. 

Initially, there was hope that Zelenskyy and Putin would sit down with each other. The Ukrainian leader said he would attend if Putin showed up. However, after the Kremlin announced they would be sending an envoy, Zelenskyy appointed his defense minister to lead the delegation. 

The two sides each agreed to release around 1,000 prisoners of war "in the coming days," though they failed to reach agreement on peace. Zelenskyy attributed the lack of a breakthrough to Putin sending low-level officials to the talks. 

Putin said Sunday any peace deal would need to "eliminate the causes that triggered this crisis" and "guarantee Russia's security."

Trump, meanwhile, suggested peace would not be brokered without him. 

"Nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together," Trump told reporters on Thursday.

Ukraine has called for a 30-day, unconditional ceasefire. Putin, however, has suggested that Ukraine might use the time to rearm and mobilize.