Donald Trump says he's 'working tirelessly' to end Ukraine conflict

U.S. President Donald Trump says he's "working tirelessly" to end the all-out war in Ukraine that has raged for more than three years.

"It's time to stop this madness, it's time to halt the killing, it's time to end this senseless war," Trump said Tuesday evening, well over an hour into a lengthy address to a joint session of Congress that was broadcast live on television.

Trump said he'd received a letter, earlier in the day, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicating that "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible."

The U.S. president also stated that he'd seen "strong signals" that Russia is "ready for peace."

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine's borders in February 2022. The two countries have been locked in a state of all-out war ever since.

Under former president Joe Biden, the U.S. had been a strong backer of Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion.

But Trump's new administration has seemingly turned in a different direction than the one that came before it: U.S. officials have begun talking to Russia without Ukraine's involvement and the administration signalled this week it would pause military aid to Ukraine.

Trump has also publicly clashed with his Zelenskyy, while simultaneously pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart to give the U.S. access to Ukraine's minerals as a form of payment for aid that Washington has provided Kyiv during the war. During his address on Tuesday, Trump stated that Zelenskyy's letter indicated Ukraine was "ready" to sign a minerals deal with the U.S. 

Earlier Tuesday, Zelenskyy had made a similar comment on the social platform X about Ukraine's willingness to sign "the agreement on minerals and security."

Trump previously claimed he could bring the war in Ukraine to an end within 24 hours. Six weeks into his new presidency, however, the fighting continues.