Written By: S Kumar
Russia-Ukraine War Latest Update: The Russia-Ukraine war is now in its fifth year, and there’s been some renewed diplomatic motion, mostly with U.S. President Donald Trump in the centre of it, which kind of raises new hopes that talks could, at some point, lead to a ceasefire. Over the past few days Trump did separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and he said he thinks the end of the conflict might be “closer than people realise”.
Still, even with this fresh diplomatic energy, the fighting hasn’t slowed down. It’s actually got more intense. Russia had rolled out one of its deadliest recent waves of missile and drone attacks on Kyiv right before the NATO summit. Meanwhile, Ukraine kept up long-range strikes too, including against Russian military assets in occupied Crimea.
No, although diplomatic contacts between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv have increased. Hence, there is no ceasefire or peace agreement in place.
Russian missile and drone attacks go on across Ukraine. As we know, Ukrainian forces are still busy along multiple frontlines, plus they keep hitting Russian military infrastructure. If you know the military operations are still fully alive even as more international efforts try to restart negotiations.
Trump spoke separately with both leaders ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, where Ukraine is expected to stay one of the alliance’s top priorities.
According to the Kremlin, Trump reiterated his willingness to help end the conflict through diplomacy. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy later described his own conversation with Trump as productive, saying both leaders agreed to continue discussions in person during the NATO summit.
The calls are widely viewed as an attempt to restart political negotiations rather than signal an immediate breakthrough.
Per Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, Trump and Putin spoke for almost 90 minutes in a conversation Moscow described as “constructive”.
In that exchange, Putin,
The Kremlin also highlighted that Trump and Putin agreed to remain in contact. Here could speak again soon as diplomatic efforts continue.
President Zelenskyy said the call was “very good” and that the talks centred on the following:
Zelenskyy added that there is still “a real prospect” to end the war if international diplomatic efforts continue, while also stressing Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity remain not negotiable.
Even as diplomatic discussions started to pick up speed, Russia did yet another big missile and drone assault on Kyiv and the areas around it, kind of again and again.
Those attacks reportedly left more than 20 people dead and dozens more injured. Ukraine is pushing hard for additional Western air-defence systems before the NATO summit because the timing matters. Ukrainian officials have said Russia is, in practice, increasing military pressure even while talks are still going on. Whereas contacts are happening, but the pressure keeps coming.
Meanwhile, reports are indicating that Ukraine has continued long-range drone strikes targeting Russian logistics and military infrastructure. This may include facilities in occupied Crimea.
Crimea remains one of the central disputes preventing a peace agreement.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. However, Ukraine and most Western governments keep recognising it as Ukrainian territory, not as Russian.
The peninsula is a crucial Russian military base in the Black Sea. Due to this, it becomes a regular target for Ukrainian strikes meant to hit supply lines, ammunition depots, and command operations.
As long as both sides hold conflicting positions on Crimea, it keeps showing up as one of the biggest barriers to any negotiated settlement.
Trump has said more than once that he wants to help end Europe’s biggest war since World War II.
And while both Moscow and Kyiv publicly claim they are still open to diplomacy, there are major disagreements that haven’t gone away, especially over:
Analysts say these problems are just too huge to expect a quick breakthrough, even if the diplomatic engagement looks more intense than before.
Attention is now, mostly, leaning toward the NATO summit in Ankara, where Trump is expected to meet Zelenskyy alongside other allied leaders, too.
Ukraine is trying to secure more solid military backing, especially extra air defence systems, while NATO members are expected to talk through continued financial and military assistance.
The alliance is also expected to lay out additional support packages for Kyiv as Russia’s offensive keeps pushing forward.
Trump has said that Ukraine-related talks will sit near the very top of his priorities during the summit, and he has sounded optimistic that diplomacy might actually unlock real headway.
As per the latest, Trump-Putin and Trump-Zelenskyy conversations have sparked fresh hopes. whereas this formal talk could restart after months of modest diplomatic movement.
Still, the situation on the ground looks different. Russia keeps carrying out large-scale missile strikes, Ukraine stays focused on defending its territory, and neither side seems ready to soften its key requirements.
For now, diplomacy is picking up steam, but the war continues, with no ceasefire sign in sight. The results of the NATO summit, and any follow-up discussions involving Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy, will probably decide if these renewed contacts turn into substantial peace negotiations or if it becomes yet another diplomatic attempt that goes nowhere.