On Sunday morning, officials appointed by Moscow announced one fatality resulting from a Ukrainian assault on Russian-controlled Crimea. Meanwhile, separate discussions were held between Russian and Ukrainian leaders and then-US President Trump regarding efforts to end the ongoing conflict, which is now in its fifth year.
The attack, targeting northern Crimea, also left two individuals injured, with one reported to be in a critical state, according to Sergei Aksyonov, the region’s governor appointed by Russia, who shared the information via Telegram. Details surrounding the incident were not disclosed further.
Recently, Ukraine has been intensifying its assaults on crucial infrastructures in Crimea. This strategic push aims to further isolate the region under Russian control, marking a significant phase in the continuing conflict.
The peninsula of Crimea was forcibly taken and subsequently unlawfully annexed by Moscow back in 2014.
Ukraine’s enhanced employment of long-range strike capabilities underscores its capacity to deliver substantial setbacks to Russian forces, thereby increasing the pressure on the Kremlin. During this time, Moscow’s military progress has largely stagnated, as observed by analysts and Western officials.
The latest attacks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump on ending the war.
Writing on X, Zelensky said he called to congratulate Trump to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and that the two leaders discussed the situation along the front line.
“There is a real prospect of ending this war, and America’s determination will be crucial. We agreed to continue the conversation in person during the NATO summit in Ankara,” he said late Saturday.
The Kremlin said that Putin and Trump discussed the conflict in Ukraine in a “constructive” phone call on Saturday.
Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said that Putin congratulated Trump and the American people on the 250th anniversary of America’s independence during the call that lasted nearly an hour and half, their fourth conversation so far this year.
Ushakov said that Trump reaffirmed his “readiness to help achieve a quick cessation of hostilities and search for peaceful solutions to settle the crisis” in Ukraine, while Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will continue mediation efforts and stand ready to visit Moscow.
The Kremlin adviser said Putin once again emphasized Russia’s “preference for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, provided that Russia’s well-known, fundamental positions are taken into account.”
At the same time, Putin charged that Kyiv and its European allies are “betting on prolonging, and even escalating the conflict,” arguing that “the European ‘party of war’ proceeds from a flawed perception of the overall situation and the state of things along the line of contact,” Ushakov said.
He added that Putin told Trump about the “real situation on the battlefield, where Russian armed forces are confidently advancing, liberating one settlement after another.”
The Russian leader specifically mentioned the capture of the Ukrainian stronghold of Kostyantynivka, describing it as a key step toward the “liberation” of the entire Donetsk region. Kyiv has denied the Russian claim of capturing Kostyantynivka.