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Shkruar nga PamfletiZelensky's message to Trump ahead of NATO summit in Turkey, to end war with Russia.
US President Donald Trump held a 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which he offered his help in finding a solution to the war in Ukraine, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
According to Ushakov, the conversation took place on Saturday, on the eve of Trump's participation in the NATO summit to be held next week in Turkey.
"The American president once again confirmed his willingness to work towards an early end to the fighting and to find solutions to overcome the crisis," Ushakov stated.
He described the conversation as "professional and quite constructive" , adding that Russia continues to seek "a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict, taking into account Russia's fundamental approach".
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he also held a phone conversation with President Trump.
In a post on Telegram, Zelensky described the conversation as "very good" , noting that they also discussed the situation along the approximately 1,200-kilometer front line.
"There is a real opportunity to end this war, and American determination will be crucial," he wrote.
According to Zelensky, the two leaders agreed to continue discussions during the upcoming NATO summit.
On the other hand, Ushakov accused Ukraine and its European allies of "counting on prolonging and even escalating the conflict," referring to Ukrainian long-range attacks on targets on Russian territory, mainly oil industry infrastructure, which Moscow says have caused fuel shortages in some regions.
In developments on the ground, Ukraine rejected Russia's claim that Russian forces have taken control of the strategic town of Kostyantynivka, one of the main strongholds of Ukrainian defense in the eastern Donetsk region.
A Ukrainian military spokesman told AFP that the city remains under the control of Ukrainian forces, while Zelensky called the Russian claim a "lie."
"If Kostyantynivka were under Russian control, then maybe Putin would have no problem meeting with me there to find a diplomatic path that would end this war," the Ukrainian president wrote on social media.
Military spokesman Andriy Kovalyov acknowledged that small groups of Russian soldiers have penetrated some parts of the city, but stressed that fighting continues and that Kostyantynivka remains under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that Russian troops are located "in all parts of the city."
A day earlier, President Putin, dressed in military uniform, thanked Russian troops for taking Kostyantynivka, a city that had about 78,000 inhabitants before the war and that Moscow has been trying to conquer for months.
Meanwhile, Russia announced that Ukraine carried out a wave of drone attacks on several targets in the St. Petersburg region. According to Russian authorities, the drones hit an oil terminal, a port near the border with Finland and also fell on the historic Peterhof complex, causing no damage.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov stated that air defense shot down 72 drones, while one of them crashed in the Peterhof area without causing casualties or material damage.
Moscow warned that it would respond to the attacks, claiming that it shot down nearly 500 Ukrainian drones and 10 Flamingo-type missiles overnight.
The Ukrainian attacks came just days after a Russian bombardment of Kiev killed 30 people, in one of the worst attacks in recent weeks.
President Zelensky also said Ukrainian forces had struck the Russian naval base in Kronstadt, near St. Petersburg. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian territory in recent months, hitting targets as far away as the Urals region, far from the front line, in response to the ongoing Russian offensive.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses shot down 62 drones heading toward the Russian capital. According to Russian authorities, one person was killed in the border region of Bryansk and another in Russian-annexed Crimea. Meanwhile, authorities in the Belgorod region reported damage to infrastructure, causing power and water outages.
Tit for tat.