President Donald Trump said Washington sees growing willingness to end Russia's war in Ukraine, as Kyiv and Moscow prepare for U.S.-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi later Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recent battlefield gains were strengthening Kyiv's negotiating position ahead of the talks.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said both sides were battle-weary, more than four and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"We're also seeing a very strong inclination to end Russia and Ukraine," Trump said, adding that, "We're involved in that because I want to see people stop getting killed again."
His comments followed a U.S. official’s assessment that Moscow and Kyiv were privately showing some flexibility over a possible exchange of territory, according to Reuters.