Putin plans response to Ukraine drone attacks, Trump says

President Donald Trump said he spent over an hour on the phone Wednesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Two leaders discussed recent developments in Ukraine and Iran but it was “not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace,” the president said in a Truth Social post. According to Trump, Putin said he will have to respond to a weekend attack from Ukraine that destroyed 41 airplanes, including bombers, that were parked at four airfields. Trump had not been informed of the plan before the attack, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press briefing yesterday.

What is the latest with peace talks? Ukrainian and Russian delegations convened for a second round of closed-door talks in Istanbul on Monday, but they left without a substantial agreement. Both sides did say they agreed to exchange more prisoners of war, and bodies of killed soldiers, at some point in the future. Ukrainian negotiators said that Russia rejected a ceasefire proposal. The Russian delegation said that they proposed a different ceasefire along portions of Ukraine’s frontline. The meeting lasted roughly an hour. While neither government has released the texts of the ceasefire proposals, Russian state-run media published a list of demands that included Ukraine’s withdrawal from four partially occupied regions and recognition as Russian territory.

What is going on with Iran? According to Trump’s Wednesday post, Putin offered to help mediate nuclear talks with Iran. Over the weekend, special envoy Steve Witkoff released a proposal to allow Iran to continue with uranium enrichment under certain conditions. But Trump later wrote on social media that he would not allow any uranium enrichment in Iran under any circumstances. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the United States’ deal, saying that Iran would not accept any agreement that closes its enrichment program or makes its nuclear program dependent on other countries. Iran has claimed it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. 

Dig deeper: Read William Fleeson’s report from Ukraine about daily life for young people on the front lines.