US President Donald Trump said Monday that Washington will turn its attention back to Russia’s war against Ukraine following the end of the Iran crisis, expressing optimism that both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are willing to negotiate.
“Maybe we can do something on Ukraine. I think both Putin and Zelensky are open to it,” Trump told reporters at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.
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“Now that Iran is finished, we’re going to be focusing on that,” he added.
Trump said he spoke separately with both leaders on Sunday and described the conversations as “very good.”
Zelensky held a phone call with Trump on Sunday – the US president’s 80th birthday – shortly before the Kremlin confirmed that Putin had also spoken with him.
Zelensky said he briefed Trump on the battlefield situation and Ukraine’s strengthened position, adding that both sides agreed to continue their discussions during the G7 summit.
According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin also called Trump on June 14 to congratulate him on his birthday, and the two discussed what Moscow described as Russian military gains in Ukraine.
Ushakov said Trump again urged Putin to end the war “as soon as possible” and suggested that doing so could open the door to improved US-Russian relations.
The Kremlin official also said that if Zelensky again raises the issue of a meeting with Putin, “let him come to Moscow.” Ushakov added that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to visit the Russian capital in the near future.
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Putin, according to Ushakov, argued that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory would not change what he described as Kyiv’s worsening battlefield position.
However, recent battlefield data paint a different picture. Russia has been losing previously occupied territory for two consecutive months. According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces suffered net territorial losses of 116 square kilometers in April and 281.1 square kilometers in May, marking their worst monthly performance since 2023.
Analysts attributed the setbacks to Ukrainian counterattacks, intensified drone strikes, and disruptions affecting Russian military communications, including restrictions on Starlink terminals and Telegram access.
The Pentagon has also acknowledged Ukrainian gains, saying Kyiv’s forces recaptured roughly 400 square kilometers (154 square miles) during the first months of 2026.
Despite those losses, Putin has repeatedly insisted that Russian troops are “advancing in all directions” and has claimed control over the entirety of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and 85% of the Donetsk region.
According to Financial Times sources, Russian military leaders have convinced Putin that all of Donbas could be captured by autumn, leading him to reject the idea of freezing the conflict along the current front line.
A source familiar with Kremlin discussions told The Guardian in late May that Putin is receiving a distorted picture of the war.
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FACT-CHECK: Is Donald J. Trump Truthful About Ukraine?
