U.S. President Donald Trump said he was being "sarcastic" when he, as a presidential candidate, declared he could resolve the crisis in Ukraine within 24 hours.

In a pre-recorded interview with a U.S. news outlet that aired on Sunday (March 16), Trump admitted to "being a little bit sarcastic" about bringing an end to a war that has continued to rage almost two months into his presidency.

"What I really mean is I'd like to get it settled. And I'll -- I think I'll be successful," Trump said, adding that it would be "bad news for this world" if Russian president Vladimir Putin didn't agree to a ceasefire.

Trump is trying to win Putin's support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week, as both sides continued trading heavy aerial strikes through the weekend and Russia moved closer to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their months-old foothold in the western Russian region of Kursk.

"I think I know him pretty well, and I think he's going to agree," Trump said.

(Production: Pavithra George)