US President Donald Trump said on Friday there is a “very good chance” the war between Russia and Ukraine can end after “productive” discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

“We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that he had requested that Putin spare the lives of “completely surrounded” Ukrainian troops.

US envoy Steve Witkoff had a long meeting with Putin in Moscow on Thursday night, a source briefed on the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

The Truth Social post did not say whether Trump and Putin had spoken to each other.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had used the meeting to convey “signals” to Trump through Witkoff. He said Russia and the US would work out the timing of a phone call between their presidents once Witkoff had briefed Trump.

The US president has said he wants Moscow and Kyiv to agree a swift ceasefire to pause fighting in a conflict which he has warned has the potential to spiral into World War Three and has already cost many lives on both sides.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Five people were injured when they were attacked by a man with an iron rod at Amritsar’s Golden Temple complex, the police said. The man was arrested and the situation was brought under control, news agency IANS reported.

Panic gripped as the man began the attack near the community kitchen, or Guru Ram Das langar, where devotees and locals were present.

Two sewadars (volunteers) of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) were among the injured people. One of the injured has been admitted to Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Amritsar, IANS reported.

The attacker and his accomplice were overpowered by people inside the temple complex, before they were arrested.

The police said the accused surveyed the area before the attack.

“The second accused allegedly conducted recce along with the one who attacked devotees,” a police officer told reporters.

The key accused went out and returned with an iron rod before he began attacking the SGPC staff and the devotees who tried to intervene.

Police officer Sarmel Singh said the accused has been identified as Zulfan, a resident of Haryana. He said he was also injured in the incident.

The police said they are investigating to find the motive behind the attack, and asked people not to panic.

The incident, however, sparked outrage among the Sikh community. The SGPC filed a police complaint against the assailant.

The incident has raised concerns about the security of devotees.

Earlier, a man opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at the entrance of the Golden Temple in December last year.

The assailant, later identified as Narayan Singh Chaura, was taken into custody after being overpowered by a bodyguard.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Thursday where they discussed the peace process. 

​US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in Moscow on Thursday where they discussed the peace process.