United States President Donald Trump has claimed ‘millions of people’ have died in the Russia-Ukraine war, a conflict he insists would not have occurred under his watch.

However, he stressed that since it has happened, it must now come to an end.

Trump made this statement following what he described as a “lengthy and highly productive” phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects,” he stated.

Reflecting on historical ties between the United States and Russia, Trump highlighted their shared sacrifices during World War II.

We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many!” he said.

Trump said both leaders agreed on the urgent need to stop the ongoing bloodshed.

“But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” he stated.

He also claimed that Putin referenced his campaign slogan.

“President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.’ We both believe very strongly in it,” Trump noted.

The former president added that they agreed to strengthen their ties and explore the possibility of visiting each other’s countries.

“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations,” he revealed.

According to Trump, both sides have decided to begin negotiations immediately, starting with a call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” he said.

Trump also announced that he had tasked key officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, with leading the peace talks.

“I feel strongly, will be successful,” he stated.

The president expressed his gratitude to Putin for his role in securing the release of Marc Fogel, an American recently freed from Russian detention.

“I want to thank President Putin for his time and effort with respect to this call, and for the release, yesterday, of Marc Fogel, a wonderful man that I personally greeted last night at the White House,” he said.

Trump ended his statement by emphasising the need to prevent further loss of life.

“No more lives should be lost!” he declared, adding, “I believe this effort will lead to a successful conclusion, hopefully soon!”

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed a total of 40,838 civilian casualties during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as of December 31, 2024. Of these, 28,382 individuals were reported injured. However, OHCHR noted that the actual numbers could be higher.

The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday because the news agency has not altered its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered renamed to the Gulf of America, the news agency said.

Julie Pace, the AP’s executive editor, said the White House informed the nonprofit news agency that the AP would be blocked from the Oval Office event if the outlet did not align its editorial standards with Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

An AP reporter attempted to enter the White House event on Tuesday afternoon but was turned away. Later Tuesday night, a second AP reporter was barred from an event in the White House Diplomatic Room.

“As a global news organization, The Associated Press informs billions of people around the world every day with factual, nonpartisan journalism,” Pace said in a statement.

“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” Pace said. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association, or WHCA, also condemned the decision as “unacceptable.”

“The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news,” WHCA President Eugene Daniels said in a statement.

The White House did not immediately reply to a VOA request for comment in response to the AP and WHCA statements.

Shortly after being inaugurated, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Denali, the highest peak in North America. According to his order, the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the Gulf of America, and Denali would revert to Mount McKinley — its name before President Barack Obama changed it in 2015.

A few days later, the AP announced that the news agency would continue referring to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico while acknowledging the new name Trump had picked. The AP said it made that decision because the gulf has carried the Gulf of Mexico name for more than 400 years and that other countries and international bodies do not need to recognize the name change.

However, since the area of the Alaskan mountain lies entirely in the United States and Trump has authority to change the name, the AP said it will use the name Mount McKinley.

Thousands of journalists and writers around the world follow the AP’s style.

Voice of America typically follows the AP’s style, but VOA’s standards editor announced in late January that the congressionally funded but editorially independent news outlet would begin referring to the body of water as the Gulf of America, in addition to referring to the mountain as Mount McKinley.

US President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury to stop producing penny coins, presenting it as an effort to cut down on government spending.

For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents.

This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time,” he added.

The so-called Department of Government Efficiency — a cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk that has helped slash federal spending — highlighted the cost of producing pennies in a post on X in January.

Debates about the production cost of pennies are not new in the United States, with several bills having been introduced in Congress that have failed to pass.

Trump’s order would likely require lawmakers’ approval but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may be able to simply stop the minting of new pennies, economics professor Robert Triest of Northeastern University wrote in January.

Prices would likely be rounded to the nearest five cents if pennies are removed, Triest said.

Canada announced in 2012 it was eliminating pennies from its coinage system, citing a production cost of 1.6 cents each and its falling purchasing power because of inflation.

Trump has made cutting the federal budget a prominent part of his new administration, with Musk’s DOGE team being tasked with investigating government spending.