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Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow will not abandon its military objectives in Ukraine, during a nearly hour-long phone call on Thursday, according to the Kremlin.
Speaking to reporters after the call, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Mr Trump again raised the prospect of an “early end” to the war in Ukraine, but Mr Putin reiterated that Russia remains committed to its goals, including the “elimination of the well-known root causes” of the conflict.
The phrase is widely seen as a reference to Moscow’s longstanding objection to Ukraine’s NATO ambitions — a justification many Western leaders have dismissed as a pretext for Russia’s full-scale invasion, now entering its third year.
Despite his firm stance, Mr. Putin reportedly told the U.S. leader that Russia remains open to further negotiations. Any future peace deal, however, would require Ukraine to formally abandon its bid to join NATO and acknowledge Russian sovereignty over territories it has occupied since 2022.
The call follows recent developments in the conflict, including a significant prisoner and remains exchange between Russia and Ukraine last month, which Mr. Putin is said to have briefed Mr. Trump on during their discussion.
No date was set for a third round of peace talks in Istanbul, and the two leaders did not directly address Washington’s recent pause in military shipments to Kyiv — a move confirmed by the Pentagon earlier this week.
According to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter, the delay affects deliveries of precision-guided artillery and advanced air defence systems. The U.S. Department of Defense has cited a need to reassess stockpiles as the reason for the halt.
The pause has alarmed Ukrainian officials, who summoned the acting U.S. envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underscore the critical importance of continued military support, warning that the disruption could severely undermine Ukraine’s defences against Russia’s renewed aerial and ground offensives.
Thursday’s phone call marks the sixth publicly acknowledged conversation between President Trump and President Putin since Trump’s return to the White House in January.
The nature of their communications — often characterized as more conciliatory compared to past U.S. administrations — has drawn scrutiny, particularly in light of Mr. Trump’s past remarks expressing sympathy toward Moscow’s security concerns.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and its European allies continue to press for urgent international support amid fears of a widening power imbalance as battlefield conditions evolve.
Stay with M10News.com for further updates on U.S.-Russia relations and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.