Key Points

While addressing a press briefing on Tuesday (local time), Leavitt noted that Russia handed over a peace plan to the Ukrainian side and the two nations agreed on the exchange of prisoners from each other's nations. She said that Trump is a realist and knows that the two nations have been engaged in the conflict due to former US President Joe Biden's "weakness and incompetence."

When asked about Trump's statement on the Russia-Ukraine war following the Ukrainian drone strike, Karoline Leavitt said, "The President's thinking on the Russia-Ukraine war as it stands, I've spoken to him about it just this morning, is he remains positive at the progress that we've seen. Again, he urged both leaders to sit down and talk directly with one another, and they did that. Russia handed over a memorandum of peace, or a peace plan, or a suggestion of one, I understand, to the Ukrainian side. They also agreed upon the exchange of prisoners or hostages from each other's countries.

"He remains positive about the progress that we're seeing, but he also is a realist and he realises these are two countries that are at war and have been for a long time because of his predecessor's weakness and incompetence. So he's working hard to solve this conflict. And that's where his mind is right now on it," she added.

Russia and Ukraine held a second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday. The two nations agreed to swap dead and captured soldiers, The Washington Post reported. However, there was no significant progress towards ending the war or even agreeing to a ceasefire.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, stated that Russia did not agree to an unconditional ceasefire or a bilateral meeting between the leaders of the two nations. However, both nations agreed to exchange gravely wounded prisoners of war, captives under the age of 25, and the bodies of 6,000 killed soldiers from each side.

Umerov also said that Ukraine had proposed holding another round of talks at the end of June. On Monday, a Ukrainian presidential official said that "a certain format" on a presidential level is being discussed, including a meeting between leaders of the US, Russia, Ukraine and Turkiye.

He said, "This is crucial for making progress in the negotiation process. We've been telling Russia for a very long time this war must end, and the whole world supports us in that." He stated, "If Russia is serious about ending the war, it will move forward on this. If not, international sanctions must follow."

Umerov demanded the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russian forces from occupied territories in Ukraine's east, The Washington Post reported. That point seems to have added tension to the talks between Russia and Ukraine, as the head of the Russian delegation, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, accused Ukraine of "putting on a show aimed at compassionate Europeans" in post-meeting remarks.

Russia has repeatedly denied that the country forcibly took children from occupied Ukrainian territories, The Washington Post reported. Following the first round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in May, the two nations agreed to exchange memorandums mentioning their respective conditions for ending the conflict. Ukraine presented its proposal before the meeting in Istanbul, while Russia presented its proposal during the talks.

Furthermore, on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, about ending the Ukraine conflict, as both sides prepare for fresh negotiations in Istanbul.

The diplomatic contact between Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came as Ukraine and Russia conducted some of the largest drone attacks since the war began nearly three years ago.

Ukraine carried out a significant drone attack on Sunday targeting deep inside Russian territory, destroying dozens of nuclear-capable bombers and other military aircraft.

- ANI