Shafaq News – Washington / Moscow / Kyiv

US President Donald Trump on Thursday reiterated his commitment to mediating a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, despite stalled attempts to arrange direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a phone interview with CBS News, Trump said he has spoken with both leaders, stressing that while they are “not ready yet,” he believes an agreement will eventually be reached.

He voiced frustration with the ongoing “carnage” and noted he intends to resume discussions after his August summit in Alaska with Putin ended without progress. A White House official confirmed he is scheduled to speak with Zelenskyy later on Thursday.

Putin indicated earlier that he would be prepared to meet Zelenskyy if the Ukrainian leader traveled to Moscow, stressing that talks should be carefully prepared and yield tangible results, a proposal Ukraine’s foreign ministry rejected on grounds that Moscow cannot serve as a neutral venue.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced EU proposals to deploy troops to Ukraine, calling any foreign presence “completely unacceptable.” She accused Kyiv of escalating tensions and criticized Washington’s approval of more than 3,000 missile sales to Ukraine as undermining diplomacy.

These developments came as Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting 46 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly over Rostov and the Black Sea. Ukraine’s General Staff countered that its forces had destroyed or disabled dozens of Russian targets, including armored vehicles, artillery systems, drones, and missiles.