U.S. President Donald Trump had a "very good and productive" call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday, the White House said, adding that Trump hopes both Ukraine and Russia will agree next week to a proposed 30-day ceasefire.

President Donald Trump called for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to pave the way for talks on a lasting peace agreement, and threatened to impose further sanctions if a truce is violated.

As the clock approached the time the Kremlin said its guns would fall silent for three days, the men at the National Guard monitoring center in eastern Ukraine had absolutely no faith in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ceasefire.