US President Donald Trump has expressed confidence that an end to the fighting in the Ukraine war could be near.

"A potentially big day for Russia and Ukraine," he wrote on his online mouthpiece Truth Social, amid recent diplomatic overtures. "Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that can be saved if this endless 'carnage' hopefully comes to an end." He will continue to work with both sides to ensure this happens. "A big week lies ahead!"

On Saturday, Ukraine and key European allies issued an ultimatum to Moscow for an unconditional, extended ceasefire starting Monday. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk traveled to Kyiv for this purpose and threatened Moscow with new sanctions if it did not agree to the ceasefire. The heads of state and government reportedly coordinated in a telephone call with Trump, who has long been calling for a ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin then offered Ukraine the resumption of direct peace talks in Turkey. He wanted these to begin as early as next Thursday in Istanbul. He said the talks would resume "without preconditions." Putin did not directly address the demand for a 30-day ceasefire.

What Trump was referring to exactly remained unclear in his statement. He made no direct reference to the two proposals.