Trump on Call With Putin: “No Progress Made” on Ukraine

“No progress has been made.” With these words, U.S. President Donald Trump described his July 3rd phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The night that followed only reinforced that bleak assessment: Russia launched a new wave of drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting Kyiv and several other Ukrainian cities.

At least 13 districts of the Ukrainian capital were hit, with videos showing buildings engulfed in flames. Fourteen people were reportedly injured. Ukraine’s national railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said infrastructure in Kyiv had been damaged, forcing train delays and reroutes.

Russia also reported a large-scale drone assault by Ukraine. According to Moscow, air defense systems intercepted 48 Ukrainian drones across several regions: 26 in Rostov, 12 in Kursk, six in Belgorod, three in Orël, and one in Lipetsk. In Moscow’s outskirts, over 50,000 people lost power after a fire at an electrical substation. One person was killed in Rostov.

These attacks come amid an escalating cycle of strikes over recent weeks and followed what was reportedly the sixth phone conversation between Trump and Putin since the former returned to the White House. Hopes that Trump’s re-election might prompt a Russian shift on Ukraine now appear misplaced.

Details of the hour-long conversation remain scarce, but the Kremlin reiterated it “would not give up on its objectives” and that the root causes of the war “must be addressed.” In other words, no compromise. “I told Putin I wasn’t happy. I made no progress,” Trump told reporters before departing for Iowa. “I’m disappointed in President Putin,” he added, “because he has no intention of ending the war.”

Meanwhile, a new phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected today—their first since the U.S. announced a halt to certain weapons shipments to Kyiv. Trump also spoke last night with French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently held his first conversation with Putin in over three years.