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Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he was left “very disappointed” following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing doubt that the Kremlin was willing to end the ongoing war in Ukraine. “I don’t think he’s there,” Trump told reporters upon returning to Washington from Iowa. “I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.”
The call, which lasted nearly an hour, “didn’t make any progress”, according to the US President.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders did not discuss a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Shortly after the call concluded, a Russian drone strike targeted Kyiv, sparking a fire in a residential building and injuring at least 23 people, Ukrainian officials said.
Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported damage across six of the city’s 10 districts. A medical facility in the Holosiivskyi district caught fire from drone debris. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 539 drones and 11 missiles nationwide overnight, calling Kyiv the “main target” of the assault.
14 of the injured were hospitalisd. Meanwhile, five civilians were killed in Russian shelling in and near Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine which has been under prolonged attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters in Denmark on Thursday that he hoped to speak with Trump by Friday, primarily to discuss the weapons pause. The Pentagon’s move has disrupted deliveries of Patriot air defense systems, critical for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
Trump confirmed the call would take place but defended the current administration’s position. “We’re giving weapons, but we’ve given so many weapons,” he said. “Biden emptied out our whole country giving them weapons, and we have to make sure we have enough for ourselves.”
The temporary halt in weapons supply has caused alarm in Kyiv, with Ukrainian officials warning the delay could impair their ability to defend against escalating Russian attacks. Ukraine’s state-owned railway reported infrastructure damage in Kyiv, which forced train diversions and delays.
Putin maintains that the war will not end until the “root causes” — a term often used by Moscow to reference NATO expansion and Western military support for Ukraine — are resolved. Ushakov reiterated that Russia is willing to talk but insisted peace talks must happen directly between Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump and Putin did not discuss plans for an in-person meeting, Ushakov said.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. While both sides deny targeting civilians, thousands of Ukrainian non-combatants have been killed. Amid ongoing drone and missile assaults, Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting 478 out of the 550 aerial weapons launched overnight.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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