CNN halts for breaking news as Trump issues three-word demand to Putin after two-hour call

cut into programming for breaking news coverage after President Donald Trump held a marathon two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin and issued a stark three-word demand: end the bloodbath. The call, described by Russian state media TASS as "frank and substantive," took place on Monday morning amid Russia's escalating assault on Ukraine. Trump reportedly urged the Russian president to immediately cease the violence, while Putin, for his part, demanded compromises that are "acceptable to all sides," hinting at the grim likelihood of a prolonged conflict.

Putin "expressed his position on the ceasefire during the conversation," according to Russian sources, and repeated that "Russia, too, favours a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. We simply must determine the most effective ways of moving towards peace." Trump is expected to release a formal readout, but shortly after the call he posted online that the conversation went "very well." He added: "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the war."

He wrote that the discussion focused on "stopping the 'bloodbath' that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade."

According to TASS, the Kremlin is open to "a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time, should relevant agreements be reached."

The renewed push for peace also involved Trump briefly speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other NATO leaders. Reuters reported that Trump spent "a few minutes" on the phone with Zelensky before turning to Putin.

Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, said before the call that he believed it would "clear up some of the logjam" and "get us to the place that we need to get to." He added: "I think it's going to be a very successful call."

Vice President JD Vance also weighed in, warning that the U.S. may soon have to reassess its involvement if Moscow refuses to engage. "Eventually, the U.S. has to say this is not our war," he said.

Ahead of the call, Vance added that Putin "does not seem to know" how to withdraw and predicted that Trump would press the Russian leader hard. "I think the president's going to say to President Putin: 'Look, are you serious? Are you real about this?'"

Putin appeared confident, with Bloomberg reporting that the Kremlin is aiming to seize full control of the contested regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force revealed that Russia launched 112 drones overnight, continuing its intense offensive.

Elsewhere, the 47th President secured a major victory on Monday (May 19) as the Supreme Court gave the green light for his administration to proceed with ending temporary deportation protections for Venezuelan nationals.

The decision follows a recent ruling where the court backed a group of Venezuelans who feared imminent removal under broad wartime powers.