President Donald Trump floated a joint meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming he wants all countries to move toward denuclearization. 

Trump on Thursday told reporters he plans to advance these denuclearization talks once "we straighten it all out" in the Middle East and Ukraine, comments that come as the U.S., Russia and Ukraine are actively pursuing negotiations to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

"There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many," Trump said Thursday at the White House. "You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons."

"We’re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully, much more productive," he said.

The U.S. is projected to spend approximately $756 billion on nuclear weapons between 2023 and 2032, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released in 2023. 

PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS

Additionally, Trump said that he was aiming to schedule meetings with Xi and Putin early on in his second term and request that the countries cut their military budgets in half. The president said he believes "we can do that," and remained indifferent about whether he traveled to Xi or Putin, or if they visited the White House. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. has dramatically reduced its nuclear arsenal since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. 

The U.S. maintains 3,748 nuclear warheads as of September 2023, a drop from the stockpile of 22,217 nuclear warheads in 1989, according to the Department of Energy. The agency reported the U.S. owned a maximum of 31,255 nuclear warheads in 1966. 

In comparison, Russia has an estimated stockpile of roughly 4,380 nuclear warheads, while China boasts an arsenal of roughly 600, according to the Federation of American Scientists. 

Trump’s remarks build on previous statements he made in January at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where he signaled interest in talks on denuclearization with both Russia and China. 

"Tremendous amounts of money are being spent on nuclear, and the destructive capability is something that we don’t even want to talk about today, because you don’t want to hear it," Trump said on Jan. 23. 

Previous talks between the U.S., Russia and China fell through in 2020 during Trump’s first administration after he refused to sign an extension of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia to impose limits on each country’s nuclear arsenals. The treaty ultimately was renewed under the Biden administration and now expires in 2026, but Russia suspended its participation. 

On Thursday, Trump accused these negotiations of falling apart due what he called the "rigged election" in 2020. 

NO LONGER TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF: TRUMP SIGNS ORDER PRIORITIZING ‘UNIFIED’ US FOREIGN POLICY FRONT 

Trump also said on Thursday that Putin wants peace after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, comments that followed back-to-back calls with the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday. 

Trump, who met with Zelenskyy in New York in September 2024, urged Putin to cease the war — or face sanctions — in a post on Truth Social on Jan. 22. 

"Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE," Trump wrote. If we don't make a 'deal', and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries."

Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime suggested relations between Washington, D.C., and Moscow are on "the brink" of collapse this week.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the announcement during a Monday press conference. Ryabkov reiterated Putin's stance that there would be no peace in Ukraine unless the country dropped its ambitions to join NATO and ceded Russian-occupied regions.

"We simply imperatively need to get ... the new U.S. administration to understand and acknowledge that without resolving the problems that are the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine, it will not be possible to reach an agreement," Ryabkov said.

While President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has spoken to Putin, a spokesman for the Russian leader declined to confirm the call this week.

ZELENSKYY WANTS NUKES OR NATO; TRUMP SPECIAL ENVOY KELLOGG SAYS 'SLIM AND NONE' CHANCE

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he expects to have "many more conversations. We have to get that war ended."

"I hate to see all these young people being killed. The soldiers are being killed by the hundreds of thousands," he added.

TRUMP'S FOURTH WEEK IN OFFICE COULD INCLUDE MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY, IRONING OUT STEEL DEAL

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference later this week after confirming on Friday he is ready to "do a deal" with President Donald Trump.

According to an interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy said he was ready to supply the U.S. with rare-earth minerals in exchange for Washington’s continued backing of its war effort.

"If we are talking about a deal, then let's do a deal, we are only for it," Zelenskyy said. 

The Ukrainian president has made clear he is also open to engaging in peace talks with Russia to end the three-year-long war, though possible terms for securing a peace deal remain varied and unknown. 

Though Zelenskyy has said he is looking for "guarantees" when it comes to future security assurances for the war-torn country.

These security assurances will likely need to be more than a formal handshake paired with a signed document, as Russia has twice violated its last agreement with Ukraine, known as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

Zelenskyy apparently first floated the idea of trading Ukraine’s mineral resources – roughly 20% of which are located in now Russian-controlled territory, including half of the rare-earth variety – under his "victory plan" first presented to Western allies last fall, reported Reuters. 

Washington Capitals and NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin is on the cusp of breaking a scoring record many believed would never be broken: the 894 goals scored by Wayne Gretzky over his illustrious career.

As of this writing, Ovechkin sits at 875 goals. Only he, Gretzky and Gordie Howe are members of the 800-goal club. With only 30 games left in the season – he missed 15 games this year with injuries – it will be tough, but not impossible to eclipse Gretzky’s record this year.  

That said, if he does not, there is not a person in hockey who does not believe Ovechkin will break the record early next year and go on to score over 900 goals. A record I predict will never be broken.

Ovechkin is a phenom; the human equivalent of a brick wall at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds; and arguably one of the top five players ever to skate in the NHL. The other four in my opinion are Gretzky, Howe, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux.

INSIDE PUTIN’S MINDSET: WHAT TEAM TRUMP CAN EXPECT FROM MOSCOW WHEN NEGOTIATING OPTIONS ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

Ovechkin also has that elusive "It Factor," which has made him world famous. Most especially in his native Russia.

Way back in the day as a teenager, I had a dream to play in the NHL. I was fortunate enough to get invited to one NHL camp and several minor league camps. Only a complete lack of talent and a knee injury kept me from realizing that dream. But it was the love of hockey that inspired me to follow the truly amazing career of Ovechkin. 

Years later, I executed a 180 away from sports and somehow ended up as a writer in the White House for two presidents, an official at the Pentagon, director of communications for former Sen. Bob Dole, a vice president of a well-known government relations firm, and a principal at the then largest law firm in the world, where I specialized in politics and government relations.  

TRUMP CALLS ON PUTIN TO MAKE A DEAL, END ITS WAR AGAINST UKRAINE OR FACE MORE ECONOMIC PRESSURE

And it is because of that background, that I have been viewing Ovechkin through a totally different prism. 

Anyone who has remotely followed the life and career of Ovechkin knows that he is a man of character. He is renowned for being a great husband, father, friend, teammate, and a giving philanthropist. 

He is also renowned for loving his native Russia and her people. As he should.

Today – quite sadly – we live in a very polarized country and world where far too many people operate from personal and ideological silos separated from all others. As one who has worked in politics at a fairly high level, I will confess to not being a fan of either political party.  

PRO-RUSSIA, PRO-CHINA RADICALS MARCH AGAINST TRUMP: ‘PROUD TO IDENTIFY AS A SOCIALIST’

My "Party" for the last 15 years or so has been the "commonsense" Party. I strongly believe it is in the best interest of all of us to speak to each other in a civil manner while seeking out shared interests and solutions.

Over the last three years, one of the subjects that has become politicized and polarized is the war in Ukraine. This is not the forum to have a back and forth on that subject. That acknowledged, I will venture to say that we as a people and as a nation must make it clear that the people of Russia are not our enemy. Unfortunately, over the last three years, we have witnessed a number of athletes from Russia treated as the "enemy" by some.

Because of the war in Ukraine, some have chosen to rhetorically attack Ovechkin for his friendship with Vladimir Putin. While it’s always easy – especially in the age of social media – to attack someone on the floor of the "arena" from the peanut gallery in the stands or from 30,000 feet up, it’s also almost impossible to know the facts, the history, or someone’s heart from that distance.

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Judgments of Putin aside, I find it admirable that Ovechkin – while making it clear multiple times that while he is not political, he does love his country and does not want to see war between Russia and Ukraine – has refused to walk away from his friendship with the Russian president.

And like it or not, it is that decision, along with his fame, charisma and personal generosity, which have made Ovechkin a beloved figure in Russia.  

Today, as I operate from under my political hat, I am always scoping the landscape to assess who might be the best candidate for the Democrats and the Republicans come 2028. JD Vance for the Republicans. No idea for the splintered Democrats. 

It is from under that same hat that I look at the landscape of Russia with the understanding that at some point, Putin will stand aside. And then what? Who might fill such a tremendous vacuum?

As someone who does have a fairly deep understanding of politics, all I can say is that Alexander Ovechkin checks a great many boxes. Never say "never."

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Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko extended his more than three decades in power in an orchestrated weekend election that the opposition and the European Union rejected as a farce.

The Central Election Commission declared early Monday that Lukashenko won the election with nearly 87% of the vote after a campaign in which four token challengers all praised his rule.

Members of the country's political opposition, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by Lukashenko's unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, called the election a sham — much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests that were unprecedented in the history of the country of 9 million people.

SECRETARY OF STATE RUBIO HAILS RELEASE OF US PRISONER IN BELARUS AS CONTROVERSY HANGS OVER NATION'S ELECTION

Since then, more than 65,000 people were arrested and thousands beaten, with the crackdown bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West.

The EU rejected Sunday's vote as illegitimate and threatened new sanctions.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the election offered no choice to voters, marking "a bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy."

"Instead of free and fair elections and a life without fear and arbitrariness, they experience daily oppression, repression and human rights violations," she said in a post on X.

Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist. He has relied on subsidies and political support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself in office for a quarter-century, a relationship that helped him survive the 2020 protests.

Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use the country’s territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.

Putin called Lukashenko on Monday to congratulate him on his "convincing victory." Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent congratulations.

Some observers believe Lukashenko feared a repeat of those mass demonstrations amid economic troubles and the fighting in Ukraine, and so scheduled the vote in January, when few would want to fill the streets again, rather than hold it in August.

Leading opponents have fled abroad or were thrown in prison. Activists say the country holds nearly 1,300 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna Human Rights Center.

Since July, Lukashenko has pardoned more than 250 people. At the same time, authorities have sought to uproot dissent by arresting hundreds more in raids targeting relatives and friends of political prisoners.

Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled Belarus under government pressure after challenging Lukashenko in 2020, denounced the election as a "senseless farce" and urged voters to cross off everyone listed on the ballot.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to negotiate a deal to end the war with Russia, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to meet soon.

Trump spoke to reporters after signing multiple executive orders Thursday afternoon in the Oval Office. When a reporter asked if Zelenskyy told him he was ready to negotiate a solution to the war with Russia, Trump provided confirmation.

"Yes, he’s ready to negotiate a deal. He’d like to stop this," Trump said. "He’s somebody that lost a lot of soldiers, and so did Russia. … Russia lost more soldiers. They lost 800,000. Would you say that’s a lot? I’d say it’s a lot."

He was also asked if sanctions on Russia would force Putin to negotiate.

PUTIN REPORTEDLY CONCERNED OVER RUSSIA'S ECONOMY AHEAD OF POSSIBLE TRUMP TARIFFS

"I don’t know, but I think he should make a deal," Trump said.

Trump also told reporters Chinese President Xi Jinping could have an influence on the war between Russia and Ukraine since it has power over Russia. He explained that the two countries are big trading partners. 

Russia, Trump noted, supplies China with a lot of energy, and the latter pays the former a lot of money.

"I think they have a lot of power over Russia, so I think Russia should want to make a deal," Trump said. "From what I hear, Putin would like to see me, and we’ll meet as soon as we can."

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA READY TO COMPROMISE WITH TRUMP ON UKRAINE WAR

When he described the war in Ukraine, Trump said soldiers were being killed on a battlefield that "is like no battlefield since World War II."

"Soldiers are being killed on a daily basis at numbers that we haven’t seen in decades," he said. "It would be nice to end that war. It’s a ridiculous war."

Putin is reportedly worried about the state of his country’s economy as Trump returns to the Oval Office. According to a Reuters report citing various sources, Trump's push to end the war in Ukraine is only adding to Putin's concerns.

PUTIN, XI VOW TO ‘DEEPEN’ ALLIANCE HOURS AFTER TRUMP RE-ENTERS THE WHITE HOUSE

Throughout his campaign, Trump pushed to end world conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, which began with Putin’s 2022 invasion.

Last month, Putin said he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with Trump on ending the war and had no conditions for starting talks with Ukrainian authorities.

"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises," Putin said at the time, after saying that Russian forces, advancing across the entire front, were moving toward achieving their primary goals in Ukraine.

"In my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight. We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises."

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a hopeful tone on Thursday during a televised interview and said he believes President-elect Donald Trump could be "decisive" in ending the war as Kyiv stares down the third anniversary of Russia's invasion. 

"Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing," Zelenskyy said according to a Reuters report. "His qualities are indeed there. 

"He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin," he added. "He is able to do this."

UKRAINE: HOW THE WAR SHIFTED IN 2024

Zelenskyy said Trump assured him that Kyiv would be among his first presidential visits following his inauguration later this month as Ukraine looks to stabilize the front lines. 

Stopping Russian advances early in the new year is a top priority for Zelenskyy, who also reportedly claimed that Putin feared negotiations as it would be seen by the Kremlin chief as tantamount to a Russian defeat.

Despite nearly three full years of war, Russia has been unable to achieve not only its initial war aims, but even Putin’s amended plans, which he announced last year when he said his main goal is now to take all the Donbas – a region in eastern Ukraine encompassing much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

However, it is not only Putin who views potential peace negotiations with apparent trepidation. 

Zelenskyy has said he welcomes peace talks, but he has also made it clear that any negotiations on ending the war will only be accepted if Ukraine is granted certain security guarantees – like the possibility of joining NATO.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER BLASTS UKRAINE PEACE DEAL REPORTEDLY FLOATED BY TRUMP'S TEAM: 'NOT HAPPY'

"Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine," he said, though he added that Washington must take into account Kyiv’s future security.

"It cannot be otherwise," he added. "We are Ukraine, and it's our independence, our land and our future."

Putin, on the other hand, has said he will not accept any cease-fire negotiations that do not include guarantees that bar Kyiv from joining the 32-member body, which under Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty says an attack on one member will trigger an attack from all NATO nations and would effectively ensure a united strike on Moscow should it once again target Ukraine. 

Zelenskyy, who has led the country since 2019, was also asked if he would consider re-running for the presidency. 

The Ukrainian president reiterated that the nation cannot hold elections while in a state of war under the nation’s existing constitution but said he may consider it once the conflict has ended. 

"I don't know how this war will end," he said. "If I can do more than I am able, then I will probably view such a decision [seeking re-election] more positively. For now, this is not an objective for me."

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Trump transition team for comment. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly took a page out of President Biden’s book and is offering to write off debts for new recruits enlisting in the country’s military for one year.

In November, Putin signed a law allowing anyone who joined the Russian military after Dec. 1, 2024, to have debs of up to 10 million rubles, or about $96,000, written off.

The Associated Press reported that the law applies to debts in which a court order for collection was issued, and enforcement proceedings had commenced before Dec. 1, 2024. The legislation also applies to spouses of new recruits.

The move appears to be similar to one from Biden’s own playbook, though the latter does not connect loan handouts to military recruitment.

RUSSIAN PARAMILITARY SOLDIERS KILLED IN FRIENDLY FIRE ATTACK BY NORTH KOREANS AFTER ENLISTING DPRK HELP

Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced $4.28 billion in student loan handouts as Biden and Vice President Harris prepare to vacate the White House.

The massive handout will give 54,900 public workers loan forgiveness but also brings the total loan forgiveness approved by Biden to nearly $180 billion for nearly 5 million borrowers.

The Biden-Harris administration touted the program for creating an "incentive" for public servants to "pursue and remain" in their careers by forgiving borrowers' remaining balance after they made the 120 qualifying monthly payments.

BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ROLLS OUT ANOTHER $4.28 BILLION IN STUDENT LOAN HANDOUTS

For Russia, though, the measure to write off debts is just another way Putin plans to build up Russian forces as he continues his war against Ukraine.

The AP reported on Sunday that western leaders say North Korea has sent some 10,000 troops to help Russia’s military campaign.

Russia also reportedly recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in its war in Ukraine by luring them to Russia under false pretenses in coordination with the Houthi terrorist network, according to a report from the Financial times.

ZELENSKYY FEARS DANGER IF UKRAINE LOSES UNITY, DEFEAT IF US CUTS FUNDS, 1,000 DAYS AFTER WAR BEGAN 

The Yemeni recruits who were transferred to Russia under a "shadowy trafficking operation" were originally told they would receive high-paying jobs and Russian citizenship.

However, after arriving with the help of a Houthi-linked company, many have apparently been coerced into the Russian military, forced to sign fighting contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.

Russia is willing to work with President-elect Trump to help improve relations with Ukraine so long as the U.S. makes the first move, Kremlin officials said this week, adding fresh momentum for the possibility of peace talks as its war in Ukraine threatens to stretch into a third year. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated that Russia could be ready to come to the negotiating table regarding its "special military operation" in Ukraine — echoing the phrasing used by the Kremlin to describe its war in Ukraine — so long as the U.S. acted first. 

"If the signals that are coming from the new team in Washington to restore the dialogue that Washington interrupted after the start of a special military operation [the war in Ukraine] are serious, of course, we will respond to them," Lavrov said in Moscow.

But he stressed that the U.S. should move first, telling reporters that "the Americans broke the dialogue, so they should make the first move."

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His remarks come after Trump's pick for Ukraine envoy, retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, told Fox News in an interview this month that both Russia and Ukraine appear to be willing to negotiate an end to the war — citing heavy casualties, damage to critical infrastructure, and a general sense of exhaustion that has permeated both countries as the war drags well past the thousand-day mark.

"I think both sides are ready," Kellogg said in the interview. "After a thousand days of war, with 350,000, 400,000 Russian [soldiers] down, and 150,000 Ukrainian dead, or numbers like that — both sides are saying, ‘okay, maybe this is the time, and we need to step back.’"

To date, Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the war. As of this fall, an average of 1,200 soldiers were killed or injured per day, according to U.S. estimates. 

In Ukraine, the country's energy infrastructure has seen extreme damage as the result of a protracted Russian bombing campaign, designed to collapse portions of the power grid, plunge the country into darkness, and ultimately, wear down the resolve of the Ukrainian people.

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA READY TO COMPROMISE WITH TRUMP ON UKRAINE WAR

Most recently, Russia launched a Christmas Day bombardment against Ukraine's power grid, directing some 70 cruise and ballistic missiles and 100 strike drones to hit critical energy infrastructure in the country. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Christmas Day timing was a "deliberate" choice by Putin. "What could be more inhuman?" he said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military has lost around 40% of the land it seized in Russia's Kursk region — a loss that could further erode morale. 

UKRAINE TO SEEK NATO INVITATION IN BRUSSELS NEXT WEEK

Lavrov's remarks also come as Kellogg prepares to travel to Ukraine in January for what he described to Fox News as an information-gathering trip. 

He declined to elaborate further on what he will aim to accomplish during the visit, saying only that he believes both countries are ready to end the protracted war — and that incoming President Trump could serve as the "referee."

"Think of a cage fight. You've got two fighters, and both want to tap out. You need a referee to kind of separate them."

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he is open to having the peace talks in the third country of Slovakia, citing an offer made by the country's prime minister during a visit to the Kremlin earlier this week. 

It is unclear whether Ukraine would be willing to have the talks held in Slovakia, a country whose leaders have been vehemently opposed to sending more EU military aid to Ukraine. 

Ukraine did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment on the peace talks, or whether it would be open to Slovakia's offer to host.