MOSCOW: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Jun 4) he held a 75-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and regional tensions with Iran. Trump said the Kremlin leader had “very strongly” indicated he would respond to Ukraine’s recent drone attacks on Russian military airfields.
“It was a good conversation, but not one that will lead to immediate peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that both Russia and Ukraine had suffered recent attacks. He reiterated his desire to end the war but offered no new proposals.
The call came days after Ukraine launched a massive drone operation that Kyiv claimed destroyed several Russian nuclear-capable bombers. Trump said the two leaders discussed the strike on docked planes “and various other attacks that have been taking place by both sides.”
Trump also said Putin had expressed willingness to “participate” in talks on Iran’s nuclear program, amid growing international concern over Tehran’s stalled response to US diplomatic outreach.
Earlier in the day, President Putin dismissed the possibility of a full ceasefire in Ukraine, asserting that Kyiv would exploit any pause in hostilities to rearm and mobilise.
“Why reward them by giving them a break from the combat, which will be used to pump the regime with Western arms, to continue their forced mobilisation and to prepare different terrorist acts?” Putin said during a televised government meeting.
At recent peace talks in Istanbul, Ukraine proposed an unconditional 30-day truce. In response, Russia presented demands including Ukraine’s full withdrawal from four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – that Moscow claims to have annexed.
Putin also accused Ukraine of orchestrating “terrorist” attacks on bridges in Russia’s border regions over the weekend, including one that caused a train derailment, killing seven people. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the incident.
