Trump, Putin hold ‘frank’ phone call as US revives Ukraine peace efforts

United States President Donald Trump has spoken by phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as the White House ramps up efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Yury Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, described the two leaders as having a “constructive and quite frank” hour-long conversation.

According to Ushakov, Putin talked with Trump about the ongoing war in Ukraine and Russia’s plans to advance its military goals on the battlefield.

“An objective and thorough analysis of the ongoing special military operation and generally our view of prospective battlefield advances and the achievement of the special military operation’s goals and tasks was given,” Ushakov said.

The adviser added that Putin pushed back against rising concern that Russia could launch future attacks in Europe, including on NATO members.

“It was underlined that we don’t have any aggressive plans regarding Europe,” Ushakov said.

The White House did not return Al Jazeera’s request for comment on the reported call.

The phone call comes just days after US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held separate meetings with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss what Trump has described as “a proposal to end the war”, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

Ushakov told reporters Putin and Trump “exchanged views on the outcome of the visits”, saying some “very good, worthwhile ideas” were presented.

After his Sunday meeting with the US envoys concluded, Zelenskyy thanked Trump for “allowing them to come” to Ukraine, despite the ongoing fighting, which was briefly paused for the negotiations.

“It is very important that the delegation has arrived to see us. We have been waiting a long time for Steve and Jared, Witkoff and Kushner,” Zelenskyy said.

“To us, it is very important to do everything so that this war ends,” he added.

The meetings, despite being lauded by all sides, appeared to produce no breakthrough on ending the fighting. After the brief weekend truce, both countries resumed strikes.

Officials in Ukraine said Russian attacks on Tuesday morning killed at least five civilians and wounded 25 others in Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Russian officials reported three people killed in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, with 13 others wounded. Ukrainian attacks on Russian-annexed Crimea also killed approximately five people, according to local authorities.

The war began in February 2022, after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, considered the breadbasket of Europe.

Trump has made ending the war a priority of his second administration, pledging on the campaign trail that he could achieve a settlement within 24 hours.

He later backtracked on that claim, calling it an exaggeration. Faced with reports that certain US munitions stocks are dwindling, Trump has repeatedly blamed Ukraine for putting a drain on the country’s missile supplies and finances — though critics point to US actions against Iran as a major factor.

While Trump has had a rocky relationship with Ukraine and its president, he has cultivated a close relationship with Putin, saying they went through “a hell of a lot” together.

Last year, Trump invited him to Alaska for his first visit on US soil since 2015.

The Trump administration has faced criticism for seeking to end the war in Ukraine without fully involving Ukrainian and European officials. Trump and Zelenskyy are expected to meet later in the month, according to Ukrainian officials.