Trump held separate July 4 calls with Putin and Zelensky about ending the war in Ukraine

President Trump held separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, July 4, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, which is in its fifth year. The two conversations, described by both governments, set up further talks at a NATO summit in Ankara later this week.

The call with Putin

The most detailed account of the Trump-Putin call came from the Kremlin. Foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders spoke for nearly an hour and a half, their fourth conversation this year, and he described it as "businesslike and quite constructive."

Ushakov said Trump "reaffirmed his readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis" in Ukraine. He said Putin restated Russia's preference for a diplomatic settlement "provided that Russia's well-known, fundamental positions are taken into account."

According to Ushakov, Putin accused Ukraine and its European allies of "betting on prolonging, and even escalating the conflict," and told Trump that Russian forces were "confidently advancing." Putin cited the capture of Kostiantynivka, a city in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, as a step toward Russian control of the wider region.

Ukraine disputed that claim. Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement on Telegram that Kostiantynivka remained under Ukrainian control, and Zelensky had called the Russian claim "just another Russian lie" a day earlier.

Ushakov said Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would continue trying to broker a settlement and were prepared to travel to Moscow again. He said U.S. diplomatic efforts had largely stalled while Washington focused on the war with Iran, and that Putin expressed hope that U.S. diplomacy on Iran would help produce solutions in Ukraine.

The call with Zelensky

Zelensky said he also spoke with Trump on Saturday. Writing on X and Telegram, he said he called to congratulate Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence and that the two discussed the situation along the roughly 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) front line.

"There is a real prospect of ending this war, and America's determination will be crucial," Zelensky wrote. He said the two agreed to continue the conversation in person at the NATO summit.

The Kremlin said Putin also congratulated Trump and the American people on the anniversary during his call.

What comes next

Heads of state from 32 countries, including Trump, are expected in Ankara for the NATO summit on July 7 and 8. Zelensky said last month that he wanted a one-on-one meeting with Putin, which the Kremlin declined.

The calls came as fighting continued. Russian-installed officials in Crimea said a Ukrainian attack in the north of the peninsula killed one person and injured two others, according to the Russian-appointed regional governor, Sergei Aksyonov. Ukraine has stepped up long-range strikes on Crimea and on Russian oil and military sites in recent weeks, including facilities near St. Petersburg. Russian authorities in Crimea declared a state of emergency late last month and halted fuel sales to civilians. Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014, an action most of the world does not recognize.