The US president has briefed his Russian counterpart on the details of his latest talks with Vladimir Zelensky
US President Donald Trump has held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning the Ukraine conflict, the White House has said.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the conversation had taken place in a brief post on X on Monday, stating that the call was “positive.”
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said during the call that Putin told Trump that the recent “reckless terrorist actions” by Ukrainian forces “will, naturally, not be without consequences, [without] the most serious response.”
Moscow revealed late on Monday that the Ukrainian military fired a barrage of 91 long-range kamikaze drones overnight at Putin’s state residence in the Novgorod Region.
According to Ushakov, Trump “was shocked by this report. Literally outraged. He said that he could not even have imagined such crazy actions.”
Ushakov added that the incident would “undoubtedly affect American approaches in the context of working with [Vladimir] Zelensky,” and quoted Trump as saying that, “thank God,” his administration had not supplied long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev.
On Sunday, Trump hosted Zelensky in Florida for the latest round of discussions on a possible peace deal with Russia.
The Ukrainian leader had earlier revealed his own 20-point plan to end the conflict that he claimed was under consideration, but Trump did not support the draft. When asked later whether the US had a ‘Plan B’ should its mediation fail, Zelensky said that Russia should be the party thinking about a backup plan, claiming “Russia’s ‘Plan A’ is war.”
Commenting on the remarks, the Kremlin official said Kiev should heed Trump’s warnings that the situation on the front was getting worse for Ukrainian troops every day.
The Russian president has, nevertheless, reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to engage with Washington in seeking a “lasting peace” in the conflict, Ushakov said.
According to Ushakov, Putin has had 17 contacts with US representatives this year, including ten conversations with Trump.
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