President Donald Trump said he spoke for more than an hour Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing recent developments in the ongoing war in Ukraine, including drone strikes on Russian airfields.
Trump said much of the conversation focused on Ukraine’s recent attacks, which reportedly damaged or destroyed more than 40 Russian combat aircraft, including long-range bombers and A-50 surveillance jets.
“It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace,” Trump said in a statement posted on Truth Social.
He added that Putin indicated he would respond to the recent strikes.
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Days after the drone attack on the airfields, Ukraine launched another operation targeting the Kerch Bridge, a key supply route connecting mainland Russia to occupied Crimea.
Trump has pushed for a cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, but escalating fighting on both sides appears to have complicated those efforts.
A high-level Ukrainian delegation is currently in Washington, D.C., and is expected to show footage of the drone attacks to members of Congress as part of an effort to secure additional U.S. weapons sales.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, spoke with reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
"I saw the last tweet of President Trump about his support of the bill and the more more active steps from Congress, which can give President Trump additional instruments" to move the peace process forward, Yermak said.
Yermak said Ukraine appreciates that despite the circumstances, "President Trump continued to work and continued to demonstrate that he really [wants] to end this war."
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