Trump to Putin: Ties Can 'Fully Restore' If War Ends — SkimNews
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- Trump told Putin in a one-hour Tuesday call that a swift end to Ukraine's war would "immediately open up" prospects for U.S.-Russia relations to be "fully restored," per Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
- Putin gave Trump what Ushakov described as an "objective and thorough" analysis of Russia's "special military operation" and dismissed speculation of a Russian threat to European nations.
- Russia resumed air attacks on major Ukrainian cities after a brief pause for the weekend visit of U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv.
- Zelenskyy said Wednesday the international community's response to the latest deadly strikes has been "too little."
- Putin has now spoken with Trump 15 times since the U.S. president took office in early 2025, with this week's call being their fifth of the year, according to Tass.
- Ukraine has pursued long-range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries and logistics hubs, seeking to raise the cost of the war for Moscow after more than four-and-a-half years of conflict.
Why it matters: The 15th Trump-Putin call since January produced no visible pause in fighting — Russia resumed major air attacks on Ukrainian cities right after U.S. envoys' weekend visit. With Zelenskyy publicly flagging a too-thin international response and Ukraine retaliating with long-range drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, the diplomatic channel is visibly decoupled from the military tempo on the ground.
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