Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he had a productive talk with President Trump focused on ending the war with Russia. CBS News national security contributor Samantha Vinograd has more.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported a productive phone conversation with Donald Trump, expressing gratitude for efforts to end the war with Russia. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains intent on capturing four Ukrainian regions, showing little sign of being swayed by potential U.S. sanctions or diplomatic initiatives.

The U.S. is pursuing both diplomatic and economic strategies, including sending envoy Steve Whitkoff to Russia and imposing tariffs on India due to its increased imports of Russian oil. Meanwhile, concerns persist over Russia's use of intermediate-range missiles and the discovery of Indian-made components in Russian drones, highlighting India's strengthened economic ties with Russia since the conflict began.

Zelenskyy holds 'productive talks' with Trump about war

President Trump's Friday deadline for Russia to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine is looking increasingly unlikely. Reuters is reporting that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to capture four regions of Ukraine and is undeterred by potential sanctions from the U.S. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he spoke with Trump on the phone this morning and he called it a productive conversation, thanking him for efforts to end the war. CBS News national security contributor Samantha Vinograd is in Washington. Sam, very good to see you here. U.S. envoy Steve Whitkoff may be heading to Russia this week to push for a ceasefire. Does he have any real leverage? It doesn't look that way. What we've seen instead is President Trump consistently moved the goalpost on when his deadline is for Russia to meet—for Russia to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine. However, while President Trump does keep moving those goalposts, he is imposing, or says he is imposing, additional pressure on Russia in the form of additional tariffs on India, which has become a major importer of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine started. So President Trump is pursuing two tracks, it appears, a diplomatic one via Steve Whitkoff and a pressure campaign via additional tariffs on India in light of its purchases of Russian oil. Sam, all this is happening, as Russia is indicating, it could start using intermediate-range missiles. What exactly does that mean, and how does that change the conflict? Well, Russia has already used intermediate-range missiles, in fact, in Ukraine. Back in 1987, the United States and Russia signed a treaty known as the INF, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, that limited the use of intermediate-range missiles by either country. That was a significant treaty. However, for years, including when I was in the Obama White House, the U.S. has had concerns that Russia was violating the restrictions on intermediate-range missiles in that treaty. And President Trump actually withdrew from that treaty in 2019. Russia recently said that it no longer felt like it had to abide by the contours of that treaty. But again, Nancy, that's somewhat performative, because Russia has been violating that treaty for years. Sam, also, a Ukrainian official says it found Indian-made components in a Russian drone. What do we know about that? And what is the relationship like today between India and Russia? Well, Russia and India have historically had very close economic ties. India's relationship with Russia has, frankly, improved over the last several years. The group of seven countries has been very focused on reducing Russian energy revenues and imposed a price cap on Russian oil exports and other measures. In light of all that, India actually increased its imports of Russian oil, because it could get Russian oil at a cheaper rate, because global demand went down. So India has significantly increased its imports of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine began and is a very strong commercial partner with Russia more broadly. The fact that Russian—Indian products have ended up in Russian drones is unsurprising, and it is likely that President Trump will try to target Indian exports to Russia to try to curb Russia's expertise on the battlefield in Ukraine. All right, Sam Vinograd, thank you very much. We always appreciate your insight.

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Zelenskyy holds 'productive talks' with Trump about war

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Ukraine Invasion