Despite Phone Call with Trump, Putin Abandons Ceasefire and Bombs Ukraine in a Major Attack
There will be no 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine after all. That’s Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message to President Trump after the two spoke for nearly two hours on the phone Tuesday.
Air raid sirens blared in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine just hours after Putin refused Trump’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire on land, air and sea.
Residents in the Ukrainian capital were forced to shelter underground after Russia launched 147 Iranian-made drones and six missiles overnight.
Targets in other parts of the country included a hospital and an energy grid, contrary to Putin’s promises.
“I feel that Putin’s words have no credibility at all,” said Mariana in Kyiv. “What he says could change in a week, just like that.”
In a nearly two-hour-long phone call on Tuesday, Putin agreed not to target Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure but stopped short of agreeing to a full 30-day ceasefire.
Steve Witkoff, the President’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, was in the Oval Office during the call.
“It’s energy and infrastructure, in general, this is something they’ve been in discussions about for probably the better part of two years, so I think there have been some breakthroughs. I would commend President Putin for all he did today on that call,” Witkoff had told Fox News.
But hours after the call, an Iranian-made drone reportedly hit a hospital in Sumy, forcing 147 patients to evacuate the facility.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy posted a picture of the attack on X.
Another drone hit an electricity system powering railway lines in the central part of the country.
Kyiv residents say the Russian overnight attacks show Putin’s real response to a peace proposal.
“The Russian imperialists do not want to let us live peacefully, because they do not recognize our right to exist, so we are forced to fight,” said Andrii Dubina, a Kyiv resident.
After the call, the Kremlin seemed to add to its list of demands, insisting that Ukraine reduce its troop strength and mobilization efforts and that the West stop sending arms and sharing intelligence support.
Trump said those demands weren’t part of Tuesday’s discussions.
“I think the Kremlin media actually stated that he demanded an immediate cessation of aid to Ukraine in order to the get to this multi-step deal?” Fox News Laura Ingraham asked the president. “No, he didn’t, we didn’t talk about aid,” Trump responded.
Meanwhile, Russia claims to have almost full control of the Kursk region, after Ukraine seized that Russian territory last August in retaliation for Russia’s invasion.
Russian troops, with help from North Korean soldiers who deployed to the area, launched several significant military operations to retake the region.
President Trump is expected to speak with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy today.
Negotiations are expected to continue this weekend in Saudi Arabia, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz leading the U.S. delegation.