Trump says Zelenskyy and Putin ready to make a deal

During his gaggle on Air Force 1 on Thursday (local time), Trump said that the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund Kirill Dmitriev was in the US, but did not specify what talks he held.

"I think he's [Zelenskyy] ready to make a deal. And I think that President Putin is ready to make a deal, and you'll stop the killing of 1000s of young people a week. I just will tell you that there's a lot of good conversation about Ukraine, Russia," he said.

Trump added that the US wants the Russia-Ukraine conflict to stop as soon as possible, and to stop the killing of thousands of soldiers from both sides.

"We have an envoy from Russia. We're talking about it [the conflict]. We like to see that [war] stop as soon as possible, because thousands of people are being killed, awake soldiers, mostly soldiers and Ukrainian soldiers and Russian soldiers, and you're losing 2,000-3,000 sometimes a week. So we're spearheading the drive to get it done. Europe has not been successful in dealing with President Putin, but I think I will be successful," Trump said.

Meanwhile, one of the largest rounds of conscription to Russia's military for several years is underway, as President Vladimir Putin pushes ahead with an expansion of the country's military at a crucial moment in the war in Ukraine, CNN reported on Wednesday.

Putin signed a decree authorizing the latest phase of the country's twice-yearly conscription effort, with the new window beginning Tuesday and running until July 15.

It will see 1,60,000 men between 18 and 30 years of age join Russia's armed forces - an increase of 10,000 on last year's spring drive, and a rise of more than 15,000 compared to three years ago, CNN reported, quoting Russian state media outlet TASS.