Trump says he spoke to Putin about the Ukraine war

President Trump said he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine and other issues.
 
“We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social media platform.

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” he said.

The comments came Wednesday as Trump’s new defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, laid out the administration’s ideas about European defense and the war in Ukraine in a meeting in Brussels.

Hegseth said the United States will no longer be “primarily focused” on European security, saying Europe should take on greater responsibility for its own defense, particularly when it comes to support for Ukraine.

He also said the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO and the restoration of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders were “unrealistic.”

“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” he said.

Hegseth was speaking to Ukraine’s backers gathered for a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Danielle Kurtzleben contributed reporting from Washington, D.C., Teri Schultz from Brussels and Willem Marx from London.

 

Postal traffic to US drops more than 80% after trade exemption rule ends, UN agency says

The de minimis rule that allowed small packages worth less than $800 to be exempt from tariffs ended on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025.

Colombia’s lone Amazon port faces drying river and rising tensions with Peru

Colombia's only Amazon port town could soon be cut off from the river that keeps it alive. As drought and a shifting river spark a tense border dispute with Peru, locals are scrambling to adapt—and politicians are raising flags, literally.

Sunday Puzzle: Common denominator

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition puzzlemaster Will Shortz along with listener Cynthia Rose of Littleton, Colorado.

South Korea says it has reached a deal with the US for the release of workers in a Georgia plant

More than 300 South Korean workers were detained in an immigration raid on Thursday. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home.

The silent killer increases your risk of stroke and dementia. Here’s how to control it

New recommendations for early treatment for hypertension to prevent strokes, heart attacks and dementia come as an experimental medication is shown to lower blood pressure in hard to treat patients.

Hitch a ride to the moon in a rusty old car and ‘The Couch in the Yard’

As the sun sets in a small town, a family loads up their rusty old car with the spare couch in their yard. When it breaks down in the mountains, what else is there to do but fly it to the moon?

More Front Page Coverage