Trump cites monthly casualty figures in Ukraine and urges a deal between Zelensky and Putin

When asked about conversations with the Ukrainian leader, the president said he "spoke to him a lot" and expressed a desire for a negotiated settlement, saying he wants the Ukrainian and Russian leaders to "make a deal." The president recited casualty figures during the exchange: "Last month, 25,000 people died in the Ukraine Russia war. Okay, 25,000. The month before that, 32,000 people...Two months ago, 33,000 people."

He said he discussed a range of subjects with the Ukrainian leader and cited broad agreement on some topics while reiterating that his priority was to encourage negotiations between the parties. The transcript uses variant spellings ("Zinsky," "Zalinsky") when referencing Ukraine's leader; this report normalizes that reference to President Volodymyr Zelensky where appropriate for clarity in proper names.