U.S. President Donald Trump says he has called Russian President Vladimir Putin and begun to arrange a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a critical step toward bringing a possible end to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume did not mince words Monday, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a fool” and saying the Russian leader’s invasion of Ukraine was an “utter failure” that will ultimately leave him paying a steep price.

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The meeting is notable in how American churches are embroiled in controversies involving Orthodoxy in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military claims to have pushed Russia’s forces back by about 1.2 miles on part of the Sumy front in northern Ukraine."Ukrainian soldiers continue active combat actions to destroy the enemy and liberate our settlements,

Although a peace deal appeared far from imminent, Ukraine's Zelensky said his Monday meeting with President Trump was his "best" so far.

Donetsk by October? They’ve been saying that since February of ‘22,” an American serving in the Ukrainian Armed Services said.