The president of the United States spoke on Saturday night with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts and offered to reactivate Washington's mediation, stalled since February, in the run-up to the NATO summit in Ankara. That same night, Ukraine attacked a Russian air base in Crimea and Russia launched 125 drones and four missiles into Ukrainian territory.

First modification: 07/05/2026 - 20:12

The American president, Donald Trump, spoke on Saturday night, July 4, with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in two separate calls, seeking to reactivate the diplomatic channel to end the war in Ukraine, two days before the NATO summit that will be held on July 7 and 8 in Ankara.

On the ground, however, there was no pause: on Saturday night, Ukraine attacked one of the main Russian air bases in the occupied Crimean peninsula and Russia launched 125 attack drones and four missiles against the invaded country.

The conversation between Trump and Putin lasted almost 90 minutes. According to Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov, the US president offered to help find a solution to the conflict in the context of his participation in the Atlantic Alliance summit, and his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would be willing to travel to Moscow again.

Ushakov described the exchange as "quite constructive" and assured that Russia seeks "a political-diplomatic resolution of the conflict", although taking into account the Russian "fundamental approach": Putin reiterated to Trump that Moscow will take control of the entire Donbass, a condition that kyiv flatly rejects.

Zelensky, for his part, described his call with Trump as "very good," in which he explained the situation on the front lines.

"There is a real possibility of ending the war. And the determination of the United States is decisive," the Ukrainian president wrote on his social networks, in which he confirmed that both agreed to continue talks in Ankara, where Zelensky is invited.

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The US-mediated negotiations had been stalled since before the war that the United States launched against Iran at the end of February, because, in Washington's opinion, neither side showed a real intention to move towards a ceasefire.

The dispute over Kostiantínivka and the numbers at the front

The readings on the military moment could not be more conflicting. The Kremlin stated on Friday, July 3, that its forces captured the strategic city of Kostiantínivka, in the eastern region of Donetsk, something that Zelensky and the Ukrainian General Staff denied by assuring that kyiv maintains control. The Ukrainian president addressed the point directly with Trump during Saturday's call.

Putin also claimed that the Russian army has captured 133 Ukrainian towns so far in 2026. However, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based in the United States, described these claims as "grossly exaggerated" because they "do not correspond to the reality of the battlefield": according to its records, Russian forces have captured or infiltrated 64 towns and some 621.7 square kilometers since the beginning of 2026.

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In June alone, the analysis center stated, Russian advances were limited to 20 towns and about 30 square kilometers, including positions that were only partially infiltrated.

Zelensky and his European partners consider that Ukraine's situation on the front, added to the long-range attacks against Russian territory, is better than ever, and that kyiv would sit at an eventual negotiating table from a position of strength.

Read alsoEurope seeks to redefine its defense strategy: will it succeed?

Ukraine redoubles attacks against the Russian rear

This commitment is reflected in the numbers displayed this Sunday, July 5, by the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Mikhail Fedorov: Ukraine practically doubled its attacks against Russian targets more than 50 kilometers from the line of contact in June, with more than 200,000 targets hit in the month, and significantly increased the intensity of its operations against occupied Crimea.

"The destruction of warehouses, means of transport and supply routes reduces the adversary's ability to supply its units," the minister said on Telegram.

The last demonstration came on Saturday night. The Ukrainian General Staff reported a successful attack on the Gvardeiskoye airfield, one of the main Russian air bases in Crimea, used for tactical and naval aviation operations, logistics and maintenance.

Also hit, according to the same source, were bridges in Donetsk that Russia uses to transport personnel and weapons, and three ammunition depots in Donetsk, Lugansk and Kherson.

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Ukrainian attacks against Russian oil and logistics infrastructure have caused a fuel shortage crisis in several regions of Russia.

Russian officials initially attributed the shortage to a sudden increase in demand, although Putin himself later acknowledged that the attacks "certainly create problems," insisting the situation is not critical.

Furthermore, Russian finances went into the red in 2026. In the first quarter, about 46% of federal spending went to military or war-related items, according to an analysis by Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Between January and April, the deficit reached 2.5% of GDP, compared to the 1.6% initially planned, which led the Minister of Finance, Antón Siluanov, to recognize that the budget imbalance was greater than expected.

The Kremlin talks about "terrorism" and a "security zone"

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov denied this Sunday that the Ukrainian attacks target military infrastructure.

"The actions of the kyiv regime are terrorist in nature, and the regime is attacking our energy sector facilities, civil infrastructures that have nothing to do with the military structure or the defense industry," he declared in an interview with the Vesti media.

According to Peskov, Ukraine is hitting Russia's interior "because the dynamics on the front are getting inexorably worse every day."

"Our troops are advancing," he insisted, and warned that, "given the aggressiveness of the kyiv regime," Russia will have to create "a security or containment zone" in Ukraine.

Read alsoNATO arrives in Ankara amid pressure from Trump, more military spending, aid to Ukraine and internal tension in Türkiye

Moscow also did not stop its bombing. Last night, Russia attacked Ukraine with 125 drones launched from Russian soil, Donetsk and Crimea, a Kh-31 air-to-surface missile fired from the Black Sea and three Kh-59/69 guided missiles from the airspace of occupied Zaporizhia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

The anti-aircraft defenses shot down 112 drones and the three guided missiles, and the Kh-31 did not reach its target, although hits from four drones were recorded in three locations and falling debris in eight places.

With EFE and local media

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