Trump Says Call with Putin Yields No Progress on Ukraine Ceasefire

President Donald Trump said Thursday that a phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia had not resulted in any movement toward ending the war in Ukraine, adding that he was “not happy” with the conflict grinding on.

“I didn’t make any progress with him at all,” Trump told reporters.

The apparent impasse came during a roughly hourlong conversation between the leaders Thursday morning — the sixth known call between the two since Trump returned to office in January — that both sides said covered a wide range of issues, including Iran.

Russia underscored the need to resolve contentious matters regarding Iran and its nuclear program exclusively through diplomatic means, the Kremlin’s top foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters, according to a briefing released by Russian state news. Trump ordered the June 21 bombing of Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites in support of the Israeli bombing campaign that began June 13.

U.S. and Russian leaders agreed to continue contacts between their foreign ministries, defense ministries and presidential aides on the matter, Ushakov said.

On Ukraine, Putin appeared to reiterate his unyielding position on negotiations, which has led many Western officials to question whether he is serious about peace talks. According to Ushakov, Putin told Trump that Russia would continue to press ahead to achieve its war aims and resolve the “root causes” of the conflict.

That phrase is often read as Kremlin shorthand for Moscow’s demands that Ukraine cede territory, embrace neutrality, be excluded from joining NATO or other military alliances, and be subjected to limits on its military.

“Donald Trump again raised the question of the quick end to the military action,” Ushakov said. “Vladimir Putin, for his part, answered that we are continuing to try to search for a politically negotiated solution to the conflict.”

Putin informed Trump of the progress on humanitarian matters that Russia and Ukraine had made after the last round of talks in Istanbul, Ushakov said. That included exchanges of prisoners and the bodies of killed soldiers. The Russian leader added that Moscow stood ready to continue the talks, though a date for the next round has not been set, Ushakov said.

Trump said early Friday morning, after returning from a trip to Iowa, that he would speak with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine later in the day.