Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire in Ukraine next month, a move met with skepticism by Ukrainian officials who demanded the Kremlin leader immediately accept a longer truce proposal from the United States that he has so far rejected.

President Trump "wants to see a permanent ceasefire first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

President Trump fired off rare public criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and sat for a dramatic one-on-one talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Vatican over the weekend, marking a starkly pro-Ukraine tilt for the president as he pushes for a peace deal.