Trump and Zelenskyy hold phone call — and Ukraine says it liked what it heard

Former President Donald Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and unlike their last controversial phone call, both sides claimed to be satisfied with how the conversation went.

Trump said that it was a “very good call” and that he will work to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. A person close to Zelenskyy who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversation said it went “exceedingly well” and that Trump pledged to “achieve a just peace in Ukraine” if he wins back the White House.

Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X that he and Trump agreed to schedule a “personal meeting” to discuss “what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting.”

Trump has pledged to swiftly end the war in Ukraine if reelected in November, going so far as to state he would negotiate peace before he assumes office in January, and has disparagingly called Zelenskyy “the greatest salesman of all time” for his efforts to secure billions of dollars in military, economic and humanitarian aid from Washington.

The war in Ukraine was not a major topic of discussion at the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee, though as Trump accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday night, he boasted that “I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, which would have never happened if I was president.”

The conversation came just a few days shy of the five-year anniversary of the phone call between the two leaders that led to Trump’s first impeachment , after he asked Zelenskyy to consider investigating Joe Biden on discredited allegations.

According to both sides, Friday’s call was more traditionally diplomatic, with Zelenskyy congratulating Trump on officially becoming the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.

Zelenskyy initiated the call nearly a week ago after the assassination attempt against Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, the person close to Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy himself was the subject of an assassination attempt by Russia in the early days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

The prospect of Trump’s reelection has alarmed officials in Europe and Ukraine who are concerned that his administration will halt U.S. military and economic support for Kyiv.

Those anxieties only increased in recent weeks as Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the final day of the NATO summit in Washington and picked Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.

Vance once described Zelenskyy’s efforts to restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders as “fantastical” and has stated that he “doesn’t care” what happens in Ukraine.

A Trump spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.

Though Trump’s recent foreign policy comments have been cause for concern in Kyiv and other EU capitals, Zelenskyy’s aides and advisers were thrilled by how well the call went, according to the person close to Zelenskyy.

“I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after he got off the phone with Zelenskyy.

“Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity,” Trump added.