Trump Says Ukraine Peace Is Closer Than People Realize

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that a resolution to the more than four-year war in Ukraine was “getting closer than people realize” and that he would discuss the conflict this week during talks at a NATO summit in Turkey.

Trump spoke after weekend calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He gave no specific reason for saying that a solution was in sight. Overnight, Russia hammered Kyiv and the surrounding region with missiles and drones, killing at least 28 people. Ukraine’s air force said none of the ballistic missiles launched during the assault had been intercepted, as supplies of Patriot interceptors remain under severe pressure.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed Trump’s approach, saying the US president had a “fairly consistent stance” on the conflict and was open to information conveyed by Putin.

Trump said he had held a “good call” with Putin on the Fourth of July holiday, which a Kremlin aide said lasted 85 minutes. He is scheduled to meet Zelensky on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, and a US official said he would likely follow up with Putin.

“President Putin wants it to end. I will tell you that very strongly”, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Zelensky said he believed Trump was viewing the conflict in a new light after recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil industry targets. “President Trump wants to be where there’s success”, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

(Reuters, Max)