President Donald Trump upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a sudden prisoner swap.

Trump's call with Putin took place as members of his Cabinet, including Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, visited Europe on inaugural trips in their positions. Vance and Rubio will meet with Zelenskyy on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the White House says.

Without consulting European leaders, the US president spoke at length with the head of the Kremlin on Wednesday. He also made a much shorter call to Volodymyr Zelensky.