First lady Melania Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Put to protect the innocence of children in a letter made public by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Donald Trump is reportedly planning to urge Ukraine to surrender the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as part of negotiations over an end to the war.

Oil prices slipped on Monday as the U.S. did not exert more pressure on Russia to end the Ukraine war by implementing further measures to disrupt Russian oil exports after the presidents from both countries met on Friday.

President Trump said that he and Russia's Vladimir Putin made progress in talks to end the war in Ukraine, but the two leaders did not announce any steps toward reaching a ceasefire.

Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan disputes Secretary of State Marco Rubio's characterization that continuing negotiations with Russian President Putin are a step toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy flies to Washington on Monday under heavy U.S. pressure to agree to a swift end to Russia's war in Ukraine.

One key party not be in attendance Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said after his meeting with the Russian president that he would call Zelenskyy and update him on the talks.