According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a nearly 90-minute telephone conversation with President Donald Trump on July 4, during which Trump once again offered to help end the war in Ukraine.
The call comes ahead of a key NATO summit that begins in Turkey on Tuesday, which the U.S. president is also expected to attend, and as Russian forces step up efforts to seize more of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, a key Kremlin objective.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to target Russia’s energy infrastructure.
The Foreign Ministry said President Putin personally congratulated President Trump and all Americans on “this important holiday”, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The meeting, the fourth of the year, was “business-like and highly constructive,” the ministry said, adding that Trump “reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate the earliest possible cessation of hostilities” in the Ukraine conflict.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on this conversation.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Russia reiterated its desire for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict,” and claimed that “Kiev and its European sponsors are aiming to prolong and even intensify the conflict.”
“The president outlined the realities on the battlefield, where Russian troops are confidently advancing,” the ministry said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said he had a “very good meeting” with Trump on Saturday.
“There is a realistic prospect of ending this war, and the United States’ resolve is decisive,” Zelenskiy said.
The conflict will serve as the backdrop for the upcoming NATO summit, after the United States announced last month that it would “justify its contribution to the NATO military model,” citing the need for the alliance not to become overly dependent on American troops.
The Kremlin has long maintained that the conflict will only end if Russia gains control of the entire Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. This weekend it claimed control of the town of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, which the Foreign Ministry called an “important milestone.”
The Ukrainian military told CNN that a small group of Russian soldiers had entered the town, but counter-sabotage operations were continuing.
It added: “Ukrainian defenders continue to maintain their positions along the designated lines.”
One unit fighting in the city posted a video of its soldiers on the ground, saying the Russian claims were “disinformation aimed at creating the illusion of success.”
“This is just a Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of news story,” President Zelenskiy said on Saturday.
In recent months, Ukrainian forces have retaken some territory in the country’s south, making gains dwindling while Russia has suffered heavy losses.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, said: “President Putin and the Russian military command’s exaggerated claims about Russia’s performance on the battlefield are part of a narrative that attempts to portray Russia’s victory in Ukraine as inevitable and the Ukrainian front as collapsing.”
In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up missile and drone attacks on key Russian infrastructure, including oil refineries, ports and military factories.
On Saturday, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, which President Zelenskiy said was “producing the proceeds of Russia’s war.”
According to the Ukrainian military, eight Russian oil refineries have been attacked in the past month, and more than 60 storage tanks have been destroyed or seriously damaged.
Ukrainian drones have also targeted fuel and power facilities in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Satellite images posted by ISW show that Crimea now has far fewer lights at night than it did a year ago.
