WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that a phone conversation earlier in the day with Russian President Vladimir Putin produced no progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, underscoring the deep impasse over the nearly two-year conflict.
Speaking to reporters before departing Washington for a campaign-style rally in Iowa, Trump acknowledged the call yielded nothing concrete. “I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” he said during brief remarks on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews.
The nearly hour-long call came as Ukraine faces intensifying Russian attacks and uncertainty over the future of U.S. military aid. Just hours after the two leaders spoke, Ukrainian officials reported an apparent Russian drone strike that ignited a fire in an apartment block in a northern suburb of Kyiv. In the capital itself, Reuters witnesses described explosions and sustained machine-gun fire as air defense crews engaged waves of drones. Meanwhile, Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine killed at least five civilians, local authorities said.
While Trump offered no new proposals, the Kremlin characterized the exchange as a continuation of dialogue rather than a breakthrough. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s top foreign policy aide, told reporters in Moscow that Putin had reiterated Russia’s position that any resolution would require addressing what he called the conflict’s “root causes,” a reference to NATO’s eastward expansion and Western backing of Ukraine’s government.
“Russia is prepared to continue contacts with the United States, but any peace negotiations should take place directly between Moscow and Kyiv,” Ushakov said.
The Kremlin official added that the two presidents did not discuss holding a face-to-face meeting in the near future, nor did they specifically address a recent U.S. decision to pause shipments of some critical weapons systems to Ukraine.
That pause, first disclosed earlier this week, has unsettled Ukrainian leaders and triggered confusion about Trump’s stance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Denmark that he planned to speak with Trump as soon as Friday to press for clarity and urge Washington to maintain steady military assistance.
While Trump insisted that the flow of U.S. arms had not been completely halted, he criticized former President Joe Biden for authorizing what he called excessive weapons transfers that depleted American stockpiles.
“We’re giving weapons, but we’ve given so many weapons,” Trump said. “You know, Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves.”
Current and former U.S. officials say the Pentagon has delayed deliveries of Patriot air defense missiles and other systems because inventories are running dangerously low just as Ukraine braces for a Russian summer offensive.
The Patriot system has been critical to Kyiv’s efforts to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian officials summoned the acting U.S. ambassador to Kyiv this week to emphasize that any disruption in aid would hamper their ability to defend cities from escalating Russian attacks.
The impasse highlights the broader diplomatic stalemate. Despite repeated U.S. appeals for Russia to engage in serious negotiations, Moscow has shown no sign of scaling back demands. Russian officials have insisted that any settlement must include security guarantees preventing Ukraine from joining NATO—a position Kyiv and most NATO capitals categorically reject.
Some Western officials also say the Kremlin is seeking to exert influence over domestic political decisions in Ukraine and other Eastern European nations as part of a wider strategy to roll back NATO’s presence.
Trump’s comments Thursday also reflected the competing pressures he faces. While some congressional Republicans have called for a tougher line against Putin, others have pressed for reducing U.S. involvement.
In Istanbul last month, Russian representatives reportedly demanded that American envoys leave the room when Ukrainian negotiators proposed a trilateral format for exploratory talks, Ukrainian officials said. Ushakov did not address that episode but stressed again that Moscow does not support three-way discussions involving Washington.
The war, now approaching its 21st month, erupted in February 2023 when Russian forces invaded Ukraine after years of escalating tensions over NATO expansion and Ukrainian ties to the West. Ukrainian authorities estimate tens of thousands of civilians have been killed, with millions displaced and entire cities reduced to rubble.
