One dead in attack on Crimea while Putin and Zelenskyy hold separate phone calls with Trump

One person died in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, according to reports from Moscow-appointed officials early Sunday morning, as Russian and Ukrainian leaders held separate talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on ending the war, which has now been going on for five years.

Two other people were injured in the attack in northern Crimea, one of them seriously, according to Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed regional governor, on Telegram. He did not provide details about the attack.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its attacks against key infrastructure targets in Crimea, as Kiev’s military seeks to isolate the vital Russian-controlled peninsula in the latest stage of the war.

The peninsula was taken by force and illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine’s increasing use of long-range strikes has highlighted its ability to inflict serious damage on Russia and put greater pressure on the Kremlin, while Moscow’s advances have stalled almost completely in recent times, according to Western analysts and officials.

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The latest attacks occurred after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump about ending the war.Related stories

In a message posted on X, Zelenskyy said he called Trump to congratulate him on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of American independence and that both leaders discussed the situation on the front line.

“There is a real possibility to end this war, and the determination of the United States will be crucial. We agreed to continue the dialogue in person during the NATO summit in Ankara,” he declared on Saturday night.

The Kremlin stated that Putin and Trump discussed the conflict in Ukraine in a “constructive” phone conversation on Saturday.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said that Putin congratulated Trump and the American people on the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence during the call, which lasted nearly an hour and a half; this was their fourth conversation so far this year.

Ushakov stated that Trump reaffirmed his “readiness to help achieve a rapid cessation of hostilities and to seek peaceful solutions to resolve the crisis” in Ukraine, while Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will continue mediation efforts and are ready to visit Moscow.

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The Kremlin advisor said that Putin reiterated “Russia’s preference for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, provided that Russia’s fundamental and well-known positions are taken into account.”

At the same time, Putin accused Kiev and its European allies of “betting on prolonging and even intensifying the conflict,” arguing that “the European ‘war party’ is based on a mistaken perception of the general situation and the state of affairs along the line of contact,” said Ushakov.

He added that Putin informed Trump about the “real situation on the battlefield, where the Russian armed forces are advancing with confidence, 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 having captured Kostyantynivka. The General Staff of Ukraine reiterated in a statement published on Telegram on Sunday that the war-torn city remains under Ukrainian control. This statement came one day after Zelenskyy declared that the Russian claim of having taken control was “another Russian lie.”