President Trump’s phone call to his Russian counterpart has intensified fears that Ukraine could be excluded from peace talks determining its future and security.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and European defense ministers had expressed concern that they might not be present for talks between President Trump and Russia’s leader to end the war.

Trump described his call with Putin as “lengthy and highly productive” and thanked Putin “for his time and effort," emphasising their shared desire to halt the fighting without saying a word that it was Russia which sent troops into Ukraine.

After holding a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 12, U.S. President Donald Trump once again claimed the "horrible, very bloody war" in Ukraine had cost "millions" of lives. It’s not the first time Trump has claimed that such numbers of people have been killed in the war.

Russia said on Thursday that Ukraine would "of course" be involved in talks to end the war, but there would be a separate U.S.-Russian strand to the negotiations.

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