President Trump held separate calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year. The calls took place as a Ukrainian attack on Crimea left one person dead, according to officials installed by Moscow in the Russian-occupied territory.
Two people were also injured, one seriously, in the attack in northern Crimea, said the Russian-installed regional Gov. Sergei Aksyonov on Telegram. Aksyonov did not provide details about the attack.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on key infrastructure targets in Crimea as Kyiv’s military seeks to isolate the vital Russian-held peninsula in the latest stage of the war. Russian authorities in Crimea announced a state of emergency in the area at the end of last month, which halted all fuel sales to civilians in response to Ukrainian attacks. Putin, in a rare admission, told a Russian journalist around that time that the Ukrainian strikes were causing “problems” for Russia.
Crimea was seized by force and illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine’s increasing use of long-range strikes has highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and put added pressure on the Kremlin while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt, Western analysts and officials say.
The latest attacks came after Zelenskyy and Putin spoke with Mr. Trump about ending the war.
Russian Presidential Press Service via AP
Writing on X, Zelenskyy said he called to congratulate Mr. Trump to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and that the two leaders discussed the situation along the front line.
“There is a real prospect of ending this war, and America’s determination will be crucial. We agreed to continue the conversation in person during the NATO summit in Ankara,” he said late Saturday.
The Kremlin said that Putin and Mr. Trump discussed the conflict in Ukraine in a “constructive” phone call on Saturday.
Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin congratulated Mr. Trump and the American people on the 250th anniversary of America’s independence during the call that lasted nearly an hour and half, their fourth conversation so far this year.
Ushakov said that Mr. Trump reaffirmed his “readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis” in Ukraine, while Mr. Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will continue mediation efforts and stand ready to visit Moscow.
AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov 
The Kremlin adviser said Putin once again emphasized Russia’s “preference for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, provided that Russia’s well-known, fundamental positions are taken into account.”
At the same time, Putin charged that Kyiv and its European allies are “betting on prolonging, and even escalating the conflict,” arguing that “the European ‘party of war’ proceeds from a flawed perception of the overall situation and the state of things along the line of contact,” Ushakov said.
He added that Putin told Mr. Trump about the “real situation on the battlefield, where Russian armed forces are confidently advancing, liberating one settlement after another.”
The Russian leader specifically mentioned the capture of the Ukrainian stronghold of Kostyantynivka, describing it as a key step toward the “liberation” of the entire Donetsk region.
Kyiv has denied the Russian claim of capturing Kostyantynivka. Ukraine’s General Staff reiterated that the embattled city remains under Ukrainian control in a statement on Telegram on Sunday, a day after Zelenskyy said that Russia’s claim to have taken control was “just another Russian lie.”
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