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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” successful a telephone telephone Wednesday that helium volition respond to Ukraine’s play drone onslaught connected Russian airfields.
The U.S. president said successful a societal media station that “It was a bully conversation, but not a speech that volition pb to contiguous Peace.”
The telephone that lasted for an hr and 15 minutes was Trump’s archetypal known with Putin since May 19.
Trump said helium and Putin besides discussed Iran's atomic program.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier communicative follows below.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy connected Wednesday dismissed Russia’s ceasefire proposal arsenic “an ultimatum” and renewed his telephone for nonstop talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to interruption the deadlock implicit the war, which has dragged connected for astir 3½ years.
Putin, however, showed nary willingness to conscionable with Zelenskyy, expressing choler Wednesday astir what helium said were Ukraine's caller “terrorist acts” connected Russian obstruction lines successful the Kursk and Bryansk regions connected the countries' border.
“How tin immoderate specified (summit) meetings beryllium conducted successful specified circumstances? What shall we speech about?” Putin asked successful a video telephone with apical Russian officials.
He accused Ukraine of seeking a truce lone to replenish its stockpiles of Western arms, enlistee much soldiers and hole caller attacks similar those successful Kursk and Bryansk.
Both sides exchanged memorandums mounting retired their conditions for a ceasefire for treatment astatine Monday's nonstop bid talks betwixt delegations successful Istanbul, their 2nd gathering successful conscionable implicit 2 weeks. Zelenskyy had antecedently challenged Putin to conscionable him successful Turkey, but Putin stayed away.
Russia and Ukraine person established reddish lines that marque a speedy woody unlikely, contempt a U.S.-led planetary diplomatic push to halt the fighting. The Kremlin's Istanbul connection contained a database of demands that Kyiv and its Western allies spot arsenic nonstarters.
Zelenskyy said that the 2nd circular of talks successful Istanbul was nary antithetic from the archetypal gathering connected May 16. Zelenskyy described the latest negotiations successful Istanbul arsenic “a governmental performance” and “artificial diplomacy” designed to stall for time, hold sanctions and person the United States that Russia is engaged successful dialogue.
“The aforesaid ultimatums they voiced backmost past — present they conscionable enactment them connected insubstantial ... Honestly, this papers looks similar spam. It’s spam meant to flood america and make the content that they’re doing something,” Zelenskyy said successful his archetypal absorption to the Russian document.
He added that the 2025 talks successful Istanbul transportation “the aforesaid contented and spirit” arsenic the fruitless negotiations held successful the Turkish metropolis successful the aboriginal days of the war.
The Ukrainian person said that helium sees small worth successful continuing talks astatine the existent level of delegations. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation successful Istanbul, portion Vladimir Medinsky, an adjutant to Putin, headed the Russian team.
Zelenskyy said helium wants a ceasefire with Russia earlier a imaginable acme gathering with Putin, perchance besides including U.S. President Donald Trump, successful an effort to region obstacles to a bid settlement. The U.S. has led a caller diplomatic propulsion to halt the full-scale invasion, which began connected Feb. 24, 2022.
“We are proposing … a ceasefire earlier a leaders’ summit,” with the U.S. acting arsenic a mediator, Zelenskyy told a media briefing successful Kyiv.
“Why a ceasefire earlier the leaders’ meeting? Because if we conscionable and determination is nary communal understanding, nary willingness oregon imaginativeness connected however to extremity this, past the ceasefire would extremity that aforesaid day. But if we spot readiness to proceed the dialog and instrumentality existent steps toward de-escalation, past the ceasefire would beryllium extended with U.S. mediation guarantees,” helium said.
Ukraine is acceptable to conscionable astatine immoderate clip from adjacent Monday astatine a venue specified arsenic Istanbul, the Vatican oregon Switzerland, Zelenskyy said.
A 2nd circular of bid talks connected Monday betwixt Russian and Ukrainian delegations successful Istanbul lasted conscionable implicit an hr and made nary advancement connected ending the war. They agreed lone to swap thousands of their dormant and earnestly wounded troops.
Also, a caller captive speech with Russia could instrumentality spot implicit the weekend, Zelenskyy said.
The U.S. has shown signs of distancing itself from the conflict.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth skipped a meeting successful Brussels connected Wednesday of an planetary radical coordinating subject assistance to Ukraine. It was the archetypal clip America’s Pentagon main didn’t be alongside 50 different defence leaders since the U.S. created the radical 3 years ago.
An investigation published Tuesday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington deliberation tank, said the Kremlin is hoping for U.S. disengagement portion avoiding further sanctions.
“Without superior pain, Putin volition proceed to resistance the bid talks out, support fighting, and hold for the United States to locomotion away,” it said.
In tandem with the talks, some sides person kept up violative subject actions on the astir 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) beforehand enactment and carried retired heavy strikes.
Ukraine’s Security Service gave much details Wednesday astir its spectacular play drone strike connected Russian aerial bases, which it claimed destroyed oregon damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategical bombers.
The bureau claimed the planes struck included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, An-12, and Il-78 aircraft, adding that artificial quality helped usher the drones thousands of kilometers (miles) from Ukraine.
It besides said it acceptable disconnected an detonation connected Tuesday connected the seabed beneath the Kerch Bridge, a captious transport nexus betwixt Russia and illegally annexed Crimea, claiming it caused harm to the structure.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that determination was nary damage.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its troops person taken power of different colony successful Ukraine’s bluish Sumy region, connected the borderline with Russia. Putin announced connected May 22 that Russian troops purpose to make a buffer portion that mightiness assistance forestall Ukrainian cross-border attacks. Since then, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claims its forces person taken power of 9 Sumy villages.
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Illia Novikov successful Kyiv, Ukraine and Katie Marie Davies successful Manchester, England contributed.
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Follow AP’s sum of the warfare successful Ukraine astatine https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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