Putin and Trump discussed Ukraine in an “extremely frank” conversation

Trump called for a speedy cessation of hostilities, Ushakov said, while Putin provided an “objective and detailed analysis” of the situation on the front line.

Putin has regularly stated that his troops are advancing along the entire front, and the capture of the entire eastern Donbass region is a matter of time.

Putin “pointed out what the Americans can actually do to quickly end military operations” and stressed that Russia “has no aggressive plans” towards Europe, Ushakov added.

Trump and the White House did not immediately provide a text of the conversation.

“The sooner the better”

Russia has stepped up air attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent months.

After announcing a brief ceasefire to coincide with Vitkov and Kushner’s visit to Kyiv, Moscow resumed strikes on the Ukrainian capital overnight, killing at least five people, according to Ukrainian rescue services.

AFP reporters in Kyiv heard more explosions early on Tuesday, sparking fires and forcing local residents to hide in basements and metro stations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said Russian, Ukrainian and American negotiators could meet as early as this month to negotiate an end to the war.

“If all parties agree, we also want to hold it in the fall. If September works out, that would be great. The sooner the better,” he said.

Several previous rounds of negotiations have failed. Trust is low and there is no sign that Moscow or Kyiv have changed their position.

“The moment the US president’s peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack on Kyiv,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said.

“His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy.”

“Terrifying”

Russia said it carried out a “massive strike” on military-industrial facilities, logistics hubs and warehouse centers in Kyiv and its suburbs.

Local residents told AFP how they ran for cover when the attack began.

“It was very scary, we barely had time to run into the parking lot. The whole parking lot was also shaking,” said 55-year-old Nina Kimova, adding that her car “burned to the ground.”

According to statistics verified by the United Nations, the civilian death rate in Ukraine has reached its highest level since the early months of the Russian offensive.

On Moscow’s annexed Crimean peninsula, Russian-appointed officials said the Ukrainian attack killed two people.

Zelensky told US news outlet Axios that the United States was pushing for de-escalation ahead of winter and that Putin did not want to irritate Trump ahead of US midterm legislative elections in early November.

Russia has attacked Ukraine’s power grid every winter since the offensive began in February 2022, cutting off power and heating to millions of people in temperatures as low as -20C.

The two sides appear no closer to agreeing on how the war should end.

Moscow is demanding that Ukraine cede territory it still controls in the eastern Donetsk region and abandon Western military support.

Kyiv said such conditions amounted to capitulation and would only allow Russia to prepare a new attack in an attempt to install a puppet government friendly to Moscow.

– AFP