Russia will not 'give up' Ukraine goals, Putin told Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his US counterpart that Moscow will not "give up" on its aims in Ukraine while pledging it will also keep up a negotiating process on the conflict, the Kremlin said after a call between the leaders.

"Our president said that Russia will achieve the aims it set, that is to say the root causes that led to the current state of affairs," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

"Russia will not give up on these aims."

"He also spoke of the readiness of the Russian side to continue the negotiation process," Mr Ushakov added, saying the call lasted almost an hour.

In a wide-ranging conversation that lasted an hour, President Donald Trump raised the issue of bringing about a swift end to the war, Mr Ushakov told reporters.

Mr Putin said that Russia was ready to keep negotiating but that Moscow remained focused on removing what it calls the "root causes" of the conflict, now into its fourth year.

It marked the first publicly announced call between the two leaders in over two weeks.

Mr Ushakov said the issue of weapons deliveries to Ukraine did not come up during the Trump-Putin phone call.

Mr Ushakov added that while Russia was open to continuing to speak with the US, any peace negotiations needed to occur between Moscow and Kyiv.

That comment comes amid some indications that Moscow is trying to avoid a trilateral format for any peace negotiations.

The Russians asked US diplomats to leave the room during such a meeting in Istanbul in early June, Ukrainian officials have said.

Mr Trump and Mr Putin did not talk about a face-to-face meeting, Mr Ushakov said.

Within hours of the call, an apparent Russian drone attack sparked a fire in an apartment building in a northern suburb of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack indicated that there has been little change in the trajectory of the conflict immediately after the call.

In Kyiv itself, witnesses reported explosions and sustained heavy machine gun fire as air defence units battled drones over the capital.

Potential call between Trump and Zelensky

A senior Ukrainian official said that Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also planned to speak to each other, but not until tomorrow.

They have previously discussed issues such as the Ukraine conflict and economic cooperation.

Mr Zelensky told reporters in Denmark that he hopes to speak to Mr Trump as soon as tomorrow about the ongoing pause in some weapons shipments, which was first disclosed earlier this week.

Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky are expected to discuss the abrupt halt in some key US weapons deliveries to Kyiv, with the Ukrainian leader expected to raise potential future arms sales, the Financial Times reported.

The timing of that call could change, the FT added, citing people familiar with the planning.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the reported call. The US has paused some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine due to low stockpiles.

That decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv yesterday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington continuing, and caution that the move would weaken Ukraine's ability to defend against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.

The Pentagon's move led in part to a cut in deliveries of Patriot air defence missiles that Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles.

Russia airstrikes aimed at derailing recruitment, Kyiv says

Two people were killed in a Russian airstrike on the central Ukrainian city of Poltava and damaged a military draft office there in what Kyiv said was a concerted campaign to disrupt recruitment for its war effort.

The strike on Poltava, which also injured 47 people and caused a fire at the city's main draft office, followed a drone attack on Monday near a recruitment centre in Kryvyi Rih.

Both cities are regional capitals.

"We understand that their (Russian) goal is to disrupt the mobilisation process," Vitaliy Sarantsev, a spokesperson for Ukraine's ground forces, told Ukraine's public broadcaster.

"But I want to say that...it is too early (for Russia) to uncork the champagne because the process is impossible to stop."

Ukraine has struggled to fend off a bigger and better-equipped Russian army, and its call-up process has been marred by reports of draft-office corruption, poor training and weak battlefield command.

Read more:
Ukraine asks US for clarity after some military aid shipments halted

Well into the fourth year of its full-scale invasion, Russia has gained ground in eastern Ukraine and repeatedly hit cities far behind the front lines with drones and missiles, while also waging a sabotage campaign there, Kyiv's domestic security agency says.

In a statement last month, the Security Service of Ukraine said it had arrested more than 700 people since 2024 for alleged crimes that included arson attacks on troop vehicles and bombings at draft offices.

A Ukrainian security official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Russia was aiming to derail Kyiv's military call-up effort also by spreading disinformation and hacking recruitment office computers.

"The disruption of mobilisation is closely linked to the spread of panic and intimidation of the population," the source said, adding that bombings were part of the general strategy.

Intensifying strikes

Russian forces have also stepped up strikes on military training grounds in recent weeks, prompting Kyiv's top general to order a strengthening of security measures at bases.

A missile attack on southeastern Ukraine this week killed a brigade commander.

Ukrainian forces have also staged longer-range attacks on Russian bases in occupied territory as well as deep inside Russia.

Today's strike on Poltava came after the US said it had paused some weapons shipments to Ukraine, which drew warnings in Kyiv that the move would harm Ukraine's defence against intensifying Russian air strikes and battlefield gains.

Separately, two people were killed in a ballistic missile strike on port infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, said regional governor Oleh Kiper.

Dozens of people have been killed in recent drone and missile salvoes at Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.