United States President Donald Trump on Friday said that he held a very "good and productive" discussion with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over ending the war.
"There is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end," said Trump.
Trump also said that he had urged Putin to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
In a social media post, Trump said that thousands of Ukrainian troops at this moment are completely surrounded by the Russian forces and the troops are in a bad and vulnerable position.
"I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared. This would be a horrible massacre, one not seen since World War II. God bless them all," he said.
The US president's statement came after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting with Putin in Moscow. Russian officials said that Putin will be speaking with Trump on the US's ceasefire deal proposal.
Russia had expressed its dissatisfaction with Trump's 30-day ceasefire plan to pause the Ukraine war. However, the Kremlin conveyed that the country was looking for a permanent solution to end the war rather than a temporary one.
Recently, the US has been making "strong" efforts to bring an end to the three-year-long Russia-Ukraine war.
Putin's close aide Yuri Ushakov, a former ambassador to Washington, also criticised Trump's ceasefire proposal by saying that it has "nothing" for Russia.
He added that the document "has a hasty character. "It will be necessary to work, think and take into account our position too. It outlines only the Ukrainian approach,” said Ushakov.