"The subjects of the call will be stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week," Trump said in a Truth Social post made on Saturday.
Trade will be part of Trump's discussion with the Russian president.
"I will then be speaking to President Zelensky of Ukraine and then ... with various members of NATO," Trump said.
Zelensky will participate in the calls with the respective leaders of NATO member nations.
"Hopefully, it will be a productive day," Trump said. "A cease-fire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that never should have happened, will end."
Trump has tried to end the war in Ukraine since he took office in January and has come close to getting the two sides to agree to a cease-fire, but nothing lasting has emerged.
Russian and Ukrainian representatives met on Friday in Istanbul and agreed to a prisoner exchange but are not close to agreeing to a cease-fire, NBC News reported.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday and welcomed the prisoner exchange agreement made on Friday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Saturday in a statement.
Rubio also "delivered President Trump's strong message: The United States is committed to achieving a lasting end to the Russia-Ukraine war," Bruce said.
"The comprehensive peace plan by the United States outlines the best way forward," Bruce added. "The secretary emphasized President Trump's call for an immediate cease-fire and an end to the violence."
Zelensky was in Rome on Saturday, where he met with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and thanked him for Switzerland's support of Ukraine and its ongoing peace efforts.
"We are also grateful for the humanitarian support provided by your government, especially for what matters most to us: shelters for our schools, for our children," Zelensky told Keller-Sutter.
Zelensky updated the Swiss president on peace negotiations in Istanbul and emphasized the importance of coordinating efforts with the United States, maintaining unity and pressuring Russia to agree to a "full and unconditional cease-fire."
Zelensky, Vance meet against backdrop of first papal mass
Washington DC (UPI) May 18, 2025 -
Against the backdrop of Pope Leo XIV's first papal mass Sunday, Vice President JD Vance met privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about achieving a stand down in the war that has waged since Russia's 2023 invasion of Ukraine.
It's the first face to face meeting between the two leaders since the infamous February meeting in the Oval Office that erupted into verbal attacks, finger pointing and taunts by President Donald Trump.
The meeting between Vance and Zelenksy was overshadowed by Moscow's large scale drone attack on Ukraine just hours prior. There are also reports that Russia may be planning a nuclear attack as it ramps up efforts to intimidate Kyiv and its allies.
Zelensky called the meeting "good," and posted photos of smiling Ukrainian and U.S. officials gathered around an outside table.
"I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible," Zelensky said.
Trump is scheduled to talk with Zelensky Monday, and Trump has also said he plans to have a similar conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Leaders of Britain, Germany, France and Poland planned to speak with Trump before the U.S. president's Monday phone call with Putin, German chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Rome on Sunday.
"I spoke with Marco Rubio, including about the call tomorrow," Merz said, referring to the U.S. Secretary of State. "We agreed that we will speak again with the four state leaders and the US president in preparation for this conversation."
The latest efforts at achieving a ceasefire come as the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow failed to make any headway in ending the war, which started with Russia's full scale invasion of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol in February, 2022.
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