Trump, who turned 79, said: "President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran."

A "two week" deadline imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to see if Russia is serious about peace in Ukraine has been and gone, with Moscow's escalation of attacks on civilians during this period failing to draw the slightest condemnation from the White House.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged an unreported number of prisoners of war on Saturday during the fourth such exchange during the week.

Trump posted online that he got a birthday greeting from Putin, with whom he agreed Iran-Israel war must end, and said he told Putin "his war" should end, too.

Russia has used its fleet of bombers to rain hellfire on Ukraine. On June 1, Kyiv responded by going after those bombers.

Zelensky claims his troops ‘gradually pushing back’ Putin’s forces in Sumy - Russian forces seeking to create 'buffer zone' in Sumy after beating back Ukrainian incursion into Kursk

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke separately with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 13, amid a sweeping Israeli air assault on Iran that killed top military officials and targeted the country's nuclear infrastructure.

Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has proven extremely costly for the Russian military, with the Ukrainian General Staff announcing that one million Russian soldiers have been killed since the war began on February 24,