Russia-Ukraine War: Trump Calls On Zelenskyy To ‘Make A Deal’ With Putin, Decries 25,000 Deaths In One Month | Sahara Reporters
Trump’s intervention comes amid intensified diplomatic activity. The US president has reportedly sought to organise a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Miami in December.
The United States President Donald Trump has publicly called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate a settlement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, pointing to staggering monthly casualty figures in the ongoing war as justification for an immediate resolution.
In an interview aired by Fox News on Saturday, monitored by SaharaReporters, Trump said he wanted both leaders to reach a compromise to end the fighting.
“I want him to settle with Putin, and I want Putin to settle with him,” Trump said. “Last month, 25,000 people died in the Ukraine-Russia war… The month before that, 32,000 people died. They’re mostly soldiers, 97% soldiers, but whether they’re soldiers or civilians, think of it, 32,000, two months ago, 33,000 people, this month, 25,000 people died. What a shame.”
The US president expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia would reach an agreement soon, possibly before the onset of winter. “I agreed with Zelensky that we talked about a lot of different subjects, and many of those subjects have very strong agreement, but you know what I want him to do? Make a deal,” Trump said.
Trump’s intervention comes amid intensified diplomatic activity. The US president has reportedly sought to organise a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Miami in December.
He also reportedly suggested Zelenskyy travel to Moscow for talks, though the Ukrainian president declined the proposal, with his adviser Dmytro Lytvyn denying the information.
Trump’s remarks came just days after Zelenskyy warned that Russia was preparing a new massive attack on Ukraine, citing intelligence data. The Ukrainian president said Kyiv was working with allies to secure additional air defence systems.
Zelenskyy, speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, denounced Russia’s aggression and called Putin “patient zero,” accusing him of perpetuating conflict that brings “only pain, instability, new risks, and of course, new crisis.”
“The more freedom Putin has to act, the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else,” Zelenskyy said. “That is why patient zero must be stopped. He must be denied the space to act and the space to spread this evil further.”
On Saturday, Zelenskyy reported new Russian strikes that killed two people in the city of Zaporizhzhia and injured 14 across the country. Attacks were also reported on Kyiv and the regions of Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia. “It is important that our partners not forget: Russia is escalating the situation every day,” Zelenskyy said, calling for tougher sanctions from the US and EU.
The strikes followed a deadly drone attack on Kyiv on Friday that killed seven people and injured 59.
The Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea, following mass protests that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
A Russia-backed insurgency subsequently erupted in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aiming to restore its political influence over the country.
The war has become the largest interstate conflict in Europe in nearly 80 years. According to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Russian forces suffered approximately 1.4 million casualties — killed, seriously wounded, or missing — from February 2022 through June 2026, including at least 450,000 fatalities. Monthly Russian casualties in the first half of 2026 ranged from 30,000 to 34,000, exceeding the rate of recruitment of new contract soldiers, which stood at about 27,000 per month.
The casualty ratio between Russia and Ukraine rose to 8:1 in the first half of 2026, largely due to Ukraine’s widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles, including AI-equipped drones.
CSIS noted that Russian military deaths in Ukraine are more than four times the total number of US combat deaths in all wars since World War II combined.
Ukrainian forces have launched a successful campaign of strikes against Russian military and economic targets using drones and missiles, including AI-powered systems, targeting not only border regions but also major cities including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In annexed Crimea, the strikes led to the closure of beaches and camps, fuel shortages, and power outages.
Despite enormous losses, the Russian military command has been unable to break through Ukrainian defences, with the offensive having virtually ground to a halt. Average rates of advance are among the slowest in wars over the past century — about 50 meters per day in the Konstantinovka area and 70 meters near Pokrovsk.
Russia currently controls about 118,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, approximately 20% of the country, of which about 75,000 square kilometers were captured after February 2022.
The diplomatic process between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States intensified in early September following visits by US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv. On 5 September, they spoke with Putin for over three hours, and the following day met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
However, no peace agreement or ceasefire was announced, though the Kremlin confirmed that the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia was discussed during a recent phone call between the Russian and US presidents.
At a UN Security Council meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow was ready for peace talks with Kyiv but “will not pause the special military operation during negotiations.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said both Russia and Ukraine were interested in a limited ceasefire that would halt attacks on grain shipments and energy sectors.
Trump’s latest intervention underscores the mounting pressure on all parties to find a negotiated end to a war that has now entered its fifth year, with no end in sight to the daily bloodshed that continues to claim thousands of lives each month.