Washington DC - President Donald Trump says he recently spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending his invasion of Ukraine, as the battle nears its third anniversary.

In an interview with The New York Post, Trump revealed the two leaders recently spoke about negotiations to end the war, but responded "I'd better not say" when asked how many times they spoke.

The president told the outlet he believes Putin "does care" about ending the violence, which he says "never would have happened" if he were president in 2022 when the conflict began.

"He wants to see people stop dying," Trump said. "All those dead people. Young, young, beautiful people. They're like your kids, two million of them – and for no reason."

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Trump went on to call his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, "an embarrassment to our nation," and declared "I want to end this damn thing."

Next week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will lead the country's delegation at the Munich Security Conference, which will also be attended by Vice President JD Vance and Keith Kellogg, the administration's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

Trump is not expected to attend the event, but on Friday, he told reporters he will "probably" met with Zelensky and speak with Putin again next week.

In a statement to CNN, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he "can neither deny nor confirm" the two leaders spoke, as Washington and Moscow talk "through different channels."