President Donald J. Trump reportedly held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday, urging an end to the ongoing war in Ukraine but emerging from the conversation with no discernible progress, as both leaders stood firm in their positions.
“I didn’t make any progress with him today at all,” Mr. Trump acknowledged to reporters before departing for a campaign stop in Iowa, underscoring the hardened stalemate that has gripped the war as it enters its fourth year.
The conversation marked the first direct contact between the two leaders since the U.S. quietly paused certain arms shipments to Kyiv, a move that has sparked concern among Ukrainian officials and some NATO allies.
Mr. Trump, pressed on the matter, stopped short of confirming a full halt in support, noting that the administration was weighing whether U.S. military stockpiles needed to be prioritized. “We have to make sure we have enough ourselves,” he said.
The Kremlin’s account of the call painted a similarly unyielding picture. Putin, according to senior adviser Yuri Ushakov, reaffirmed that Russia would not deviate from its war aims, which include preventing Ukraine from deepening its ties with the West — aims the Kremlin frames as eliminating the “root causes” of the conflict.
“Russia will not back down from these goals,” Mr. Ushakov said in remarks carried by the state news agency TASS.
He added that Putin expressed willingness to resume negotiations with Ukraine, though no timeline for talks was discussed. The two leaders reportedly did not address the arms shipment pause during their exchange.
The new administration — whose foreign policy now bears the imprint of Mr. Trump’s renewed assertiveness within the executive branch — has recently scaled back its push for a cease-fire, after efforts to broker a temporary truce were rebuffed by Moscow in June.
The pause in weapons deliveries, including key air defense systems like the Patriot interceptor, has fueled fears in Kyiv that the U.S. commitment may be wavering just as Russian aerial assaults intensify.
At last week’s NATO summit, Mr. Trump took a harsher tone toward the Kremlin, naming Mr. Putin as the principal architect of the war’s continuation.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to hold a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, amid renewed uncertainty about Washington’s strategic posture and Ukraine’s long-term defense outlook.
[READ MORE: Trump Holds Phone Call With Putin After Delaying Weapons Shipment to Ukraine]
