President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he thinks President Vladimir Putin wants to stop Russia's war in Ukraine, despite recent attacks against the beleaguered nation.

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

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.