Trump Offers Putin Help on Ukraine Deal, Speaks to Zelenskyy
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Trump spoke with Putin by phone for nearly 90 minutes on Saturday — U.S. Independence Day — offering to help find a solution to the Ukraine war, per Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, who called the conversation "business-like and quite constructive."
- Ushakov said Russia sought "a political-diplomatic resolution" but accused Kyiv and European allies of "counting on extending and even escalating the conflict, and on terrorism against civilians."
- Russia has insisted any solution must include Moscow assuming full control over Ukraine's Donbas region — a demand Ukraine rejects; Zelenskyy urged Putin last month for a one-on-one meeting, which the Kremlin leader refused.
- Zelenskyy separately spoke with Trump, describing the call as "very good," said they discussed the war's 1,200-kilometre front line, and agreed to continue discussions at next week's NATO summit in Turkey.
- Trump told Putin that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would keep trying to broker a settlement and were prepared to make another visit to Moscow; U.S. diplomatic efforts have "virtually stalled" as Washington is focused on the war with Iran.
- Putin told Trump Russian forces are "confidently advancing" and claimed Russian troops captured the strategically important city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk — a claim Zelenskyy and Ukraine's General Staff dismissed, saying Kyiv's forces still control the city.
Why it matters: Trump is personally attempting to revive Ukraine mediation that has stalled because Washington is consumed by the Iran conflict, with Witkoff and Kushner preparing another Moscow trip. Moscow's precondition of full Donbas control and its disputed claim of capturing Kostiantynivka show the gap between Trump's offer to help and Russia's maximalist terms has not narrowed.
