No progress at all, Trump says after phone call with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump said that his phone call earlier in the day with Russian President Vladimir Putin yielded no progress in ending the war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic efforts by the United States to resolve the conflict through dialogue have largely stalled. Trump has also come under increasing pressure even from some Republicans to push Putin harder towards meaningful negotiations.

"I didn't make any progress with him at all", Trump told reporters briefly at a military air base near Washington before heading to a campaign-style event in Iowa.

A Kremlin aide later noted that Putin had reiterated Russia's commitment to addressing what it sees as the underlying causes of the conflict.

According to Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov, the two leaders did not bring up the recent halt in certain U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine during their nearly hour-long conversation.

The unexpected halt in American weapons support has unsettled Ukrainian leadership, particularly after Trump recently said he would seek to allocate a Patriot missile system for Ukraine's defence.

In response, Ukrainian officials summoned the acting U.S. ambassador in Kyiv to stress how vital American military aid remains. They warned that without continued support, Ukraine's ability to repel intensified Russian missile strikes and frontline advances would be significantly undermined.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking earlier in Denmark, said he hoped to speak with Trump as soon as Friday about the paused weapons shipments- a move first reported earlier this week.

The pause in U.S. arms transfers reportedly stems from concerns about dwindling stockpiles, just as Ukraine faces a renewed Russian summer offensive and an uptick in attacks on civilian areas.

While departing for Iowa, Trump insisted that the U.S. had not fully halted its military support for Ukraine, but he criticised former President Joe Biden for depleting U.S. reserves.

"We are still providing weapons. But Biden gave away so much that we now have to be careful not to compromise our own defence", Trump said. "We're trying to help Ukraine, but we also have to take care of ourselves".

The Pentagon's decision has also delayed the delivery of Patriot missile systems, a critical part of Ukraine’s defence against Russian ballistic missiles, Reuters reported.

Putin has maintained that he will not end the invasion unless Russia's core concerns are addressed, referring to NATO's expansion and Western military support for Ukraine, especially Kyiv's potential accession to NATO.

Russian officials are also reportedly seeking to increase their influence over political decisions in Kyiv and other Eastern European capitals, according to NATO sources.

Ushakov said Russia remains open to dialogue with the U.S., but emphasised that any peace talks must ultimately be held between Moscow and Kyiv.

That remark follows reports that Russia is attempting to block trilateral peace discussions. Ukrainian officials claimed Russian delegates asked American representatives to exit a meeting held in Istanbul in early June.

Trump and Putin did not discuss the possibility of an in-person meeting during the call, Ushakov added.

Soon after the call, Ukrainian authorities reported a Russian drone attack that ignited a fire in a residential building in a northern suburb of Kyiv, suggesting no shift in Moscow's military approach.

In Kyiv, Reuters journalists witnessed explosions and prolonged gunfire as Ukrainian air defences engaged incoming drones.

Meanwhile, authorities said that Russian shelling killed five people in the country's east.

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