Donald Trump has said he spoke with Vladimir Putin about starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine.

The US and Russian president discussed the matter on an hour-and-a-half phone call yesterday, in which Trump said the pair agreed to “work together, very closely”.

“We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said in a social media post. “But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine.”

Later, Kyiv said the US president also spoke to Ukraine’s president Zelensky about his conversation with Putin.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, said a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the US administration did not see Nato membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war.

It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Putin is not preparing for peace and continues to slaughter Ukrainians despite talk of a ceasefire.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed his call with US president Donald Trump and said he believes in the America’s strength to push Moscow to peace.

“I had a long and detailed conversation with President Trump. I appreciate his genuine interest in our shared opportunities and how we can bring about real peace together,” he said on X.

“We discussed many aspects—diplomatic, military, and economic—and President Trump informed me about what Putin told him. We believe that America’s strength, together with Ukraine and all our partners, is enough to push Russia to peace,” Mr Zelensky said.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has called Nato membership for Ukraine unrealistic.

In sweeping remarks, the US defence official suggested that the way forward for Ukraine was for the country to abandon hopes of a return to its pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia — one that should be backed up with an international force of troops.

Mr Hegseth made the comments yesterday during the first trip to Nato and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.