No Progress in Trump-Putin Call on Ukraine War, Says Trump

US President Donald Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018.

US President Donald Trump said on 4 July that his phone call with Vladimir Putin earlier that day yielded no progress on efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, a Kremlin aide stated that Putin reiterated Moscow’s commitment to addressing the conflict’s "root causes."

The nearly hour-long conversation did not cover a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Kyiv, according to the Kremlin aide.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have largely stalled, with growing calls for increased pressure on Putin to negotiate sincerely.

Hours after the call, a Russian drone attack sparked a fire in an apartment building in a northern Kyiv suburb, showing little change in the conflict’s course. Explosions and heavy machine-gun fire were reported over Kyiv as air defense units fought drones, while Russian shelling killed five people in eastern Ukraine.

“I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” Trump said briefly to reporters before leaving for an event in Iowa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed hope for a conversation with Trump soon regarding the pause in weapons shipments.

Trump said the US had not fully halted arms deliveries but blamed his predecessor for depleting US stockpiles. “We’re giving weapons, but we’ve given so many weapons… We have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves,” he said.

The US recently paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine amid low stockpiles, just as Ukraine faces a Russian summer offensive and frequent civilian attacks.

Putin insists he will only end the invasion once the conflict’s "root causes"—including NATO enlargement and Western support for Ukraine—are addressed. Russian leaders also seek greater influence over political decisions in Kyiv and other Eastern European capitals, NATO officials say.

The pause in US arms deliveries surprised Ukraine and raised confusion about Trump’s stance, especially after his recent statement promising to free up a Patriot missile defense system for Kyiv.

Ukrainian officials have stressed the importance of US military aid and warned that the pause weakens their defence against intensified Russian attacks.

The Pentagon’s pause affected deliveries of Patriot missiles, crucial for Ukraine to intercept fast-moving ballistic missiles.

The Kremlin aide said Russia is willing to continue talks with the US but insists peace negotiations must be direct between Moscow and Kyiv.

This stance follows Moscow’s rejection of a trilateral negotiation format, with reports that Russia requested American diplomats to leave during a June meeting in Istanbul.

Trump and Putin did not discuss any plans for a face-to-face meeting.